A horrifying video has revealed what happened when a cobra swallowed a snake whole.
There's a big reason why travelling to countries such as Australia and India hasn't appealed to me. Having seen multiple viral videos of snakes casually falling through the ceiling to fight on the floor, to snakes launching out of nowhere and attacking the camera, I'd rather not take my chances in any country renowned for its creepy crawlies and deadly animals.
As if snakes weren't terrifying enough already, imagine seeing a snake eating another snake? Apart from you don't have to just imagine it, because it's been caught on camera.
If you're ophidiophobic, herpetophobia, or just a normal human being, you might want to turn away now:
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On Thursday, 22 September, in Madhya Pradesh, Narmadapuram, India, a cobra decided it would be a good idea to ignore the standard advice we all had drilled into us growing up - chew your food properly before swallowing.
Instead, this cobra decided to not just swallow a nearby mouse or lizard whole, but another long and slithery snake.
After a few hours, it soon realised its mistake and with a little help from someone nearby - who is far braver than me for getting anywhere near the cobra, let alone grabbing its tail - heaved the snake all the way back out.
There are four different types of Cobra in India - rhe Spectacled Cobra (Naja Naja) which is 'probably the most widely found venomous snake' in the country; the Monocled Cobra (Naja kaouthia), typically found in the northeastern and eastern regions of the country; the Andaman Cobra (Naja sagittifera), a metre-long snake normally found on the Andaman Islands between India and Myanmar, and finally the Caspian Cobra (Naja oxiana) which is 'considered the most dangerous Cobra species in the world'.
There's also the King Cobra, however it's not considered by all biologists as a 'true' Cobra because of not being 'classified in the “Naga” genus'.
Indian cobras tend to mostly eat 'rodents, lizards, and frogs'.
However, the king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) 'gets its name because it has other snakes as part of its diet'.
"It eats snakes almost exclusively. Ophiophagus means 'snake eater'," AZ Animals explains.
Before swallowing the snake whole, the cobra 'spots the prey [...] strike[s] quickly and wait[s] for the venom to take hold'.
The snake was then 'paralysed quickly' before being swallowed 'whole'.
Although unfortunately for this cobra, it definitely bit off far more than it could chew.
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