King cobras have earned their fearsome reputation as a deadly snake whose bite contains enough venom to kill a man. In some cases, people have died less than thirty minutes after being bitten, and those who survive have reported that it’s extremely painful to endure. Even more astounding is the fact that their bite is capable of killing elephants in just a few hours. While king cobras usually prefer to avoid humans, contact with them is inevitable, as they can be found all across India and Southeast Asia.
One small, scrappy little mammal that has no fear of the deadly king cobra is the mongoose. They are very clever and are well known for their ability to fight snakes, particularly cobras, often winning and then eating them. Some species of mongoose are resistant to the neurotoxins found in snake venom which makes then a natural predator to the snakes, and explains this video.
In the short clip a king cobra has found a sunny spot to bask in on a warm paved road. The slinky snake has stopped traffic and people eagerly break out their cameras to film the deadly snake. Thankfully, in India they are protected and anyone found guilty of killing one can be sentenced up to 6 years in prison, so no one would dare run it over so publicly.
But that doesn’t mean the snakes out of danger because nearby its fiercest enemy lurks. A mongoose spots the snake, sees dinner, and advances towards it with no hesitation. The two battle each other, with the snake striking multiple times and the fast mongoose dodging and weaving his way around the assault. It soon ends and the mongoose emerges as the victor, carrying his cobra off the road with him so he can eat it in privacy.
I would never have thought the mongoose would win, or even be so brave. I guess a little knowledge goes a long way, and hope you learned as much as I did.
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