While watering the lower garden, my attention was grabbed (in a very primitive, survival-instinct kind of way) by a snake hanging out under a pile of chopped-up tree trunk. After hearing the rustling (and freezing and stopping breathing), I caught sight of a snake under the pile. It was black-and-something. But, I saw it's underside, which made me wonder if it wasn't dying or in distress in some way. No, I did not hang around to find out. I promptly finished up my watering, told the kids to stay away from that area or risk being eaten, and advised David as soon as he got home that his attention was required to tend to a certain visitor.
Dearest Hubby did get around to fishing the critter out. He found the tail end of a brown snake under the woodpile, and pulled on it. It resisted in a dead-weight kind of way, even though it was not moving. He pulled again. It resisted again. Eventually what he pulled out and snagged in his fishing net was this.
"Bit off more than he could chew"Yep, that would be a black snake eating a brown snake head-first.
Now, there is now way I would have thought that that black snake could have eaten that entire brown snake in one meal. I mean, he doesn't even have a wooden leg to put it in.....where's it going to go?!? We watched for a while before David scooped up the entire meal-in-progress in his fishing net and deposited it in a large storage bin.
At that point, having his meal interrupted and everything, Blackie spit out his dinner, took a gander of his situation, and then proceeded to again suck down his meal.
About half down.
Just about done.
(Can't really see it that well, be he's got just a bit of tail sticking out of his mouth)."Just hate when I get snake stuck in my teeth."
Done with dinner. Now time to re-locate.
Touching is the best part.After surviving a paparazzi of people taking multiple pictures of him eating his dinner, our friend was scooped up by Papa Bear and delivered to the "wilds" of the area surrounding the creek that runs through our (very) suburban neighborhood.
I'm delighted that you shared this experience. I love nature, too, but that little exercise in cannabalism is one I hope not to confront.
ReplyDeleteThe very best part is that your first instinct was not to kill, as would occur to some other folks. Let's assume that the snake lives a long, happy life in the woods where it belongs.
Auntie Jazz
A friend identified the species as an Eastern King snake . . . handy to have around because they eat other snakes -- especially the poisonous ones. Very agreessive and their bite hurts, but not venemous. Glad we released her . . .
ReplyDelete