A ғʀɪɢʜᴛᴇɴing battle between a crocodile and one of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅliest snakes in the world has been captured on video. Dramatic shots depicted the ᴋɪʟʟers tossing and flipping during a fierce river struggle. The viper was eventually clamped and thrashed beneath the croc’s enormous jaws before being swallowed up by his prey, giving the croc the upper hand.
Rishani Gunasinghe, a Patent Technology Specialist, observed the spectacular incident at Yala National Park in Sʀɪ Lᴀɴᴋᴀ. Rish said that this was one such occasion. He came across a small waterhole where a small crocodile lived and most Jeeps seemed to disregard and pass by.
However, soᴍᴇᴛʜing nearby that at first seemed to be little and wʜɪᴛe caught his attention and caused him to halt for a ᴄʟᴏsᴇr look. When the croc eventually seized the wʜɪᴛe object in its mouth and lifted it to show a snake, he initially thought it was a python because of its immense size and exposed underbelly.
He took a few hasty pictures before realizing it was actually a Russell’s Viper thanks to the recognizable chain of dorsal markings. The Russell’s Viper is one of Asia’s ᴅᴇᴀᴅliest snakes, causing thousands of fatalities every year. After being bitten, patients reportedly endure kidney failure, ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ clots, discomfort, swelling, vomiting, and dizziness.
Rishani added that seeing a Russell’s viper in the wild, one of the world’s ᴅᴇᴀᴅliest snakes, was a treat in and of itself, but to see a crocodile with one of possibly record size, and the superb spins and tosses displayed by the crocodile in trying to ᴋɪʟʟ and eat the viper, was quite a show and possibly a once-in-a-lifetime encounter.
