Ananova:

An Australian snake which mistook four golf balls for a clutch of chicken eggs has been saved by an emergency operation.

The balls had been placed in a chicken coop by a couple in Nobby's Creek in New South Wales in the hope that they would encourage their hens to nest.

But they also fooled the wild carpet python, which slid into the coop and swallowed the plastic balls. It was later found nearby, lumpy and bloated, and rushed to the nearby Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary.

Senior vet Michael Pyne, who removed the balls, said: "Those golf balls weren't moving any further; they were stuck where they were.

"If it hadn't been found, it would have died for sure. During the surgery we could see the name of the golf balls through the intestine because it was so stretched."

The snake - nicknamed Augustus - is expected to make a full recovery and should be released back into the wild later this month.