Here’s the moment when a King Cobra was discovered on the roadside, locked in a death grip with an octopus.
They clashed under the leaves, before they escaped to Nakhon Si Thammarat in southern Thailand.
Amazing photos show how the Python wrapped its body around the cobra in an attempt to constrain it. It then used its fangs to sink its teeth into the neck of its enemy.
Anoochit Preecha was there to observe as both reptiles struggled for dominance, while their bodies were being twist in the duel.
He explained that one of them was fighting to save its life while the other was feeding its hunger. It was a very rare experience that I witnessed.
The Pythons kill their prey with strangulation, and the cobras inflict deadly venom at their targets’ necks.
The deadly venom of the cobra weakened the python’s grip, but the cobra survived. The snake then swallowed it whole, slowly killing the animal.
Cobras and pythons are two examples of snakes that engage in cannibalism, when fighting over territory or food.
In southern Thailand, an escaped king cobra and a Python were seen engaged in a fierce fight earlier this month.
Anoochit Preecha spotted the fierce duel in Nakhon Si Thammarat on December 9 after stumbling across the snakes on the roadside
In the beginning, the two predators faced off in a partially hidden manner behind the plants to one side.
Soon, however, the dramatic fight was lost on the side road for motorists who happened to be nearby.
Initialy, the python won the battle by wrapping around the body and trying to squeeze the black king corbra to death.
However, the cobra responded by sinking its fangs into the neck of the larger snake and letting its venom go to work
They were partially hidden by shrubbery, plant matter and other obstacles by the roadside.
Because of the tight grip the python had on the cobra the smaller snake was forced to wait for the venom’s effects to kick in.
The struggle of the cobra seemed futile for a time, as the large snakes got entangled.
But eventually, though, the snake’s venom began to take effect on the python and it was able to loosen its grip around the body.
The black king cobra seemed doomed from the beginning, but the python gained early control of the battle.