Terrifying scenes as redback eats baby brown snake for dinner

Horror as redback devours brown snake. Photo / Robyn McLennan/Facebook

A Victorian woman took a series of horrifying pictures on Wednesday that makes it very easy to understand why many tourists are terrified of Australian wildlife.

Robyn McLennan came across a terrifying scene at Gapsted Wines in the state's northeast, after she spotted a redback spider devouring what she believed to be a baby eastern brown snake.

Instead of running away screaming like most people would, Ms McLennan decided to get some close up shots, news.com.au reports.

She uploaded the pictures to Facebook, noting that the spider had "brought the snake entirely off the ground" and suspended it in mid air.

Don't worry Robyn, it's not like I wanted to sleep tonight anyway. Photo / Robyn McLennan/Facebook

Redback spiders have been known to prey on small lizards and snakes from time to time, but that doesn't make the sight any less frightening.

They catch the larger prey by creating a trap that they get tangled in or crawl underneath and bite them before they can react.

For bigger catches like this snake, the spider will inject digestive fluid into the animal to soften its insides before sucking it all up.

People were understandably freaked out by the pictures, with many in shock that a spider could actually kill a snake.

Who wouldn't want to go to Australia with stuff like this happening? Photo / Robyn McLennan/Facebook

"I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself," Ms McLennan said, when commenter questioned how the spider could do that.

"Now THAT'S an ambitious red back," another person said.

One joked: "Tourism Australia should use this photo."