KEY POINTS

  • Mice, frogs and beetles climbed on top of a snake to survive flooding in the Australian state of Queensland
  • All the animals, including the snake, were rescued alive
  • Flooding in the region caused by recent heavy rainfall has taken the lives of eight people

Recent flooding in the Australian state of Queensland forced several animals to work with their natural predators in order to survive.

A series of videos supposedly showing an open rain-water tank in Western Queensland following heavy rains in the region featured mice, frogs and beetles climbing on top of what appeared to be an eastern brown snake, a natural predator of the other animals, 9News.com.au reported.

The phrase "Only in Australia" was superimposed in one of the videos that were uploaded to TikTok, and the clip has since garnered 2.6 million views.

Animal rescuers attempted to use a long metal pole to help other frogs clinging to the edge of the tank, but it agitated the water and caused the snake to take laps inside the container, a report by 7News.com.au said.

The movement caused one mouse to be thrown from the snake's back, while one more was able to cling to the reptile, another video showed.

All of the animals, including the snake, were taken out of the tank alive, according to the uploader of the videos.

Heavy rain recently hit Queensland, with the state capital of Brisbane reportedly seeing a record 677 mm of rainfall in three days.

A 50-year-old man and his dog died after the car they were traveling in through Currumbin Valley became submerged in floodwaters, bringing the death toll from the rain’s resulting flooding to eight, according to another report by 9News.

A total of 1,544 people thus far have been taken to evacuation centers across southeast Queensland as floodwaters continued to rise, state Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.

More than 18,000 homes have been affected and more than 1,000 have been closed due to the crisis.

"We have around 51,000 people without power. As you can see by this, this is a really big event, and the event is not over," Palaszczuk noted.

A "severe" thunderstorm warning has been issued for the region, and heavy rainfall may lead to flash flooding, according to Queensland's Bureau of Meteorology.

State authorities have warned locals to stay off roads as many are flooded and can potentially see landslides.

"Please do not risk your safety or the safety of others by being out unnecessarily," Queensland police said in a statement.

A girl looks at rising floodwaters of the Bremer river in West Ipswich, Queensland
A girl looks at rising floodwaters of the Bremer river in West Ipswich, Queensland AFP / Patrick HAMILTON