The Puff Adder venomous snake is one of the fastest attacking species in the world, but still cannot escape the cobra’s teeth.
Golden cobra swallows poisonous snake (Photo: Gabi Hotz).
The South African cobra (also known as the golden cobra) is considered the king of snakes, and is feared as it is extremely fond of cannibalism, even poisonous snakes.
During a tour at the Kgalagadi reserve (South Africa), Gabi Hotz, a wildlife lover, accidentally encountered the scene of a South African cobra swallowing a poisonous snake alive, and recorded the image. This unique photo.
According to Hotz, the cobra caught its prey, and immediately swallowed it. This is a Puff Adder snake (scientific name: Bitis arietans), belongs to the Viper family and is poisonous.
Puff Adder is also one of the fastest attack snakes in the world. However, it is clear that this did not help it defeat the larger, and extremely aggressive cobra.
“At first, it felt like something was coming out of a snake’s mouth,” Hotz recounted. “But after looking closely, I saw that it was another snake being swallowed.”
“With its wide mouth, the South African cobra swallows its entire prey quite easily,” Hotz said.
Golden cobras are famous for their cannibalistic habits (Photo: Getty).
South African cobras have strong poison resistance and large size. Thanks to that, it can hunt smaller venomous snakes such as black mambas, rattlesnakes, vipers… without any problems.
Not only that, cobras are also seen eating other individuals of the same family, or even pythons.
According to research by biologists, 1/3 of a cobra’s diet is their own kind. However, they still play an important role in their ecosystem. They also eat a variety of prey, including rodents, birds and other snakes.
The venom of the yellow cobra is not too strong, but the amount of neurotoxin they secrete in one bite is very high, able to kill 20 people, or even an elephant.
