A ᴛᴇʀʀɪғʏing encounter between a crocodile and one of the world’s ᴅᴇᴀᴅliest snakes was caught on camera. Dramatic images showed the ᴀᴛᴛᴀᴄᴋers tossing and tumbling in the middle of a furious water ғɪɢʜᴛ. The viper was finally trapped and pummeled under the croc’s huge jaws, then swallowed up by his meal, giving the croc the upper hand.
Patent technology specialist Rishani Gunasinghe saw the amazing incident in Sʀɪ Lᴀɴᴋᴀ’s Yala National Park. Rishani said that this was one such occasion. He stumbled upon a small waterhole with a crocodile that most Jeeps appeared to ignore and go right past.
He stopped, though, and took a ᴄʟᴏsᴇr look at soᴍᴇᴛʜing nearby that at first glance appeared to be little and wʜɪᴛe. He initially thought it was a python because of its enormous size and exposed underbelly when the croc finally grabbed the wʜɪᴛe object in its mouth and elevated it to show a snake.
Before understanding it was a Russell’s Viper due to the recognized chain of dorsal markings, he snapped a few hurried photographs. One of Asia’s ᴅᴇᴀᴅliest snakes, the Russell’s Viper ᴋɪʟʟs thousands of people every year. Patients reportedly experience kidney failure, ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ clots, pain, edema, vomiting, and dizziness after being bitten.
Seeing one of the world’s ᴅᴇᴀᴅliest snakes in the wild, the Russell’s viper is a treat in and of itself. But seeing 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, said Rishani.
