Mongooses are renowned for their ability to kill venomous snakes, especially cobras. Their well-earned reputation of being deadly opponents to snakes, further popularised by Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, has a lot to do with their lightning fast reflexes and tolerance to snake venom. A video shared by Indian Forest Services officer Susanta Nanda shows just how these small carnivores fight and evade snakes.
The video shared by Mr Nanda shows how one mongoose escaped a cobra attack in a split second. The blink-and-you-miss-it moment, slowed down in this video, shows the mongoose jumping into the air as the cobra strikes, making its getaway in the nick of time.
"That split second to evade the cobra & death, matters the most for the mongoose when they square up to each other," wrote Mr Nanda while sharing the video. He also drew attention to the mongoose's tail, writing: "The use of the tail as a rudder to navigate & balance when in air is spectacular."
Watch the video below:
The art of living????????That split second to evade the Cobra & death,matters the most for the mongoose when they square up to each other. The use of the tail as a rudder to navigate & balance when in air is spectacular. pic.twitter.com/J16s3q5iSx
— Susanta Nanda IFS (@susantananda3) November 25, 2019
The video has been viewed over 3,000 times since it was shared online on Monday. It has also received a ton of amazed comments.
Wonderful.
— Triloki Yadav (@TrilokiYadav2) November 28, 2019
Wow ????
— JENNIFER LOGANPORTER (@jenni7812) November 25, 2019
According to New Scientist, mongooses evade snakes by moving quickly and are unaffected by snake venom, as their specialised acetylcholine receptors render them immune to venom.
What do you think of this mongoose vs cobra video? Let us know using the comments section.
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