Hungry brown snake's ambitious feast 'too much' to handle
A remarkable image of the venomous snake's large meal shocked people when it was shared online.
Australian wildlife continues to evoke both horror and awe for those who come across it, with the latest image of an incredible reptile interaction amazing online observers.
The moment a native snake attempted to consume a large skink was spotted at Quinn's Beach in Perth by a local resident on Monday who snapped a picture, and sent it straight to his mate before it quickly circulated on the internet.
"Yikes, bit of a mouthful," one wrote, while another simply said, "Yeah, nah" to the highly venomous dugite eating the king's skink.
'Highly venomous' snakes also constrict their prey
Dugites are native to southwest Australia and are a species of brown snake, making them highly venomous and capable of killing prey "within minutes". However, despite their venom's strong potency, their fangs are small and therefore the snakes rely on constriction to ensure their prey doesn't scurry away.
"They've got a very toxic venom so prey will die very quickly, but they have really small fangs so they throw a few coils around prey to save it from wriggling out and taking off," snake expert Tina Chenery told Yahoo News Australia.
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Dugites are responsible for 70 per cent of snake bites reported at Perth hospitals —with prompt medical intervention required — however, there has only been one reported fatality caused by the species, according to the Australian Museum.
Snake expert admits snake may have had 'eyes bigger than belly'
Chenery confirmed it is common for dugites to eat skinks as they have "varied" diets, with the snakes often required to be opportunistic as they "never know when their next meal will come". However, this snake in particular may have had "eyes bigger than its belly".
"It's going to try its best to devour that whole piece, but he may not be able to keep it down. He'll give it a good try but he's probably eaten too much," she said. "Just like when we go to an 'all you can eat buffet', we pull up the plate and then we realise we've taken too much food, this snake may have done the same."
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