One of everyone reads here for animal wire.
In this past week, a crowd of students were in for quite the surprise when they came across this scene on a university campus in Singapore.
Well, you’ve got here is a king cobra interlocked in battle with the reticulated Python, some of the most likely spurred on by the Cobra, considering they support themselves almost exclusively on a diet of other snakes.
In fact, their scientific name actually means snake eater, but in this scenario the table seemed to have been turned, where the Python is coiled itself around the transgressor and is controlling its head in a pretty decisive manner.
And that’s what makes the interaction between these two species so interesting, because, if you didn’t know, Kings happen to be the largest species of venomous snake in the world, meaning they can reach almost 20 feet in length, and this gives them a unique combination of both physical strength and debilitating toxins, while the smaller reticulated pythons they choose to feed on are bit more robust, with an uncanny ability to subdue larger animals.
So what to do in such a situation?
The Cobras only workaround appears to be this sort of come-from-behind strategy that places it in a few precarious positions, but of course, this only happens after attempting to strike the Python, which means the Cobra must place absolute faith and not only hitting its mark but also delivering an effective dose of venom.
And that comes with the presupposition.
If all goes as planned, the Python will eventually ease its grip on the way to paralysis, allowing the Cobra to slip out and later return to a heavily impaired meal.
But, let it be known, not always surefire, and there are reports the king Cobras being constricted to death in the process.
Oh, clearly they’ve determined the juice is going to be worth the squeeze.
And you know what else is also worth the squeeze: checking out the latest video up on animal Phibes.
Once again, thanks for tuning in and giddy up.