The suburb of Greensborough was hailed this morning as Melbourne’s snake capital, reportedly clinching the presumably unwanted title from nearby Diamond Creek. Reptile expert and social media phenomenon Mark Pelley, better known as The Snake Hunter, made the bold claim to a range of media outlets this morning, including a major newspaper and a collection of radio stations.

The big call came just over a week after footage of Pelley removing a tiger snake from Greensborough Plaza did the rounds online, shining a light on an apparent increase in slithering reptiles around the local area. Pelley said that the eastern tiger snake slipping into Greensy Plaza for a few bargains earlier this month was one of “hundreds of venomous brown and tiger snakes” that he’d successfully captured in the north of Melbourne this summer.

The title is expected to be a blow to the many Greensborough residents who believe that their suburb is far-superior to Watsonia, with earlier reports suggesting that some people are trying to sweep the news under the carpet. However, according to at least one Watsonia resident, that tactic is not well-advised.

Speaking to The Watsonia Bugle about Greensborough’s new title, long-time Watsonia resident Barb Daniels said, “I wouldn’t be lifting my carpet up to sweep things under it if I lived in Greensy. By the sounds of it, there’ll be a big bloody venomous snake hiding under there!”

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