A gigantic python hanging in a tree and devouring a bird has been caught on camera by a Cooloola Cove family who said the snake began to swallow its victim just metres away from the family home.

Watch: Farmer, citizens react in true SA-fashion as python climbs tree Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's a massive snake slithering up a tree on a farm in the North West, and SA is loving the ...

After all, how can something that weighs hundreds of pounds and lacks arms or claws climb a tree? But reticulated pythons can do more than just slither on the ground.