Real or fake? Hawk drops snake on family BBQ in Australia

A video has gone viral that purports to show a hawk dropping a large snake on a family enjoying a BBQ in Australia.

The footage was uploaded to YouTube by Douglas Wong, 22, who said the snake landed on the group while they were having a BBQ along Melbourne's Yarra River.

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The description reads: "So funny ... bird dropped snake on my uncle last weekend," the description reads. Scary!"

But, while Douglas insists the clip is real, a host of people are writing it off as a fake.

According to Stuff.co.nz, Emma Goldstone, from Melbourne creative agency Jumbla, said: "The professional consensus seems to be that, no, it's not real.

"The snake is massive in the last shot, but when the bird supposedly picks it up, you can't even see it. The camera work is too good. Why would a snake be hanging out in short grass in winter?"

And, speaking to The Age, Sean Dooley, the editor of Australian Birdlife magazine, said there are sea eagles located around Port Phillip Bay, but that they are "exceptionally rare" along the Yarra.

He said: "They rarely take snakes and I would be surprised that a young bird would have that skill.

"Even more damning is that the silver gull in the foreground does not move an inch as the eagle approaches to catch the snake or when it drops it. There is no way a gull wouldn't react to a huge predator swooping in like that."

According to the Telegraph, Mr Wong said: "I'm from China and my uncle was visiting so we had a barbecue to show him the Australian ways.

"The snake ended up sliding back towards the river past those barriers. I think it was just trying to get back to the tall grass, not really chasing my uncle."

One expert at least said he thought the footage could feasibly be real, suggesting the hawk could have been bitten by the snake.

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