Woma python. Photo: Stanley Breeden

Woma python. Photo: Stanley Breeden

This non-venomous python grows to about 1.5 metres in length. It varies from pale brown to nearly black and has stripes that can appear olive, orange or even pink.

Woma pythons prey on a variety of lizards, ground birds and small mammals. They mostly catch their prey in burrows, using a loop of their body to pin the animal against a wall of the burrow.

They are mostly nocturnal, spending the day resting in logs or under leaves.

Known as kuniya to Aṉangu, the woma python is a very important creation ancestor, and the Kuniya and Liru story is one of the major Tjukurpa stories.

Scientific name

Aspidites ramsayi

Pitjantjatjara/Yankunytjatjara name

kuniya