Australia is famous for its dangerous animals – it has more deadly snakes than anywhere else in the world and the saltwater crocodiles frequenting its waters have the strongest bite of any animal.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
But who would win in a fight between a snake and a crocodile?
In Lake Moondarra, in the tropical climate of Queensland, a struggle between the two showed that, in this instance, it was a case of mind over matter.
Witnesses saw a snake resembling a python coil itself around the crocodile. After several hours of perseverance the snake, measuring approximately three metres, released its prey. The metre-long crocodile was dead.
“(The crocodile) was fighting at the start, it was trying to keep its head out of the water and survive,” said Tiffany Corlis, who watched the incident unfold. “But as the morning progressed you could tell both of them were getting a little weaker as the struggle was going on, finally the croc sort of gave in.”
Ten minutes later, the snake had swallowed its meal, leaving only a crocodile-shaped bulge as evidence of its existence.
Freshwater crocodiles and snakes live in the region in and around Lake Moondarra, according to Travis Corlis, another witness to the fight. But it was the first time he had seen the two reptiles go head to head in a battle to the death.
Image credit: Claude Edwards, flickr