5-Foot-Long Cobra Vomits Out Another Snake Following Rescue Attempt

A 5-foot-long cobra puked out a 3-foot-long cobra after it was rescued in a farm worker's home in Tamil Nadu, India, Tuesday.

Snake catcher and rescuer V. Selvam, also called Chellaa, said the young cobra, which the adult cobra chased and ate, might have been the one that entered the worker's house in the Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu first, The Times of India reported.

The bigger snake preyed on the young cobra before Chellaa rescued the reptile.

Kavitha, a farm worker, asked for help and alerted the snake catcher on Tuesday night after discovering the two snakes wandering one after the other into an area of her house where she had dumped unused belongings.

Kavitha's children assisted Chellaa in finding the snakes. They reportedly saw scales through the crack in a wall.

After hearing hissing sounds coming out from the crack, Chellaa broke open the crack using a sickle and found the 5-foot-long cobra. He found no trace of the young cobra.

Surprisingly, when Chellaa set the cobra free, it began spitting out the other snake. The prey was dead by then. Chellaa packed the adult cobra into a jar to release it in a nearby forest.

"Generally, king cobras hunt and eat other snakes including king cobras, provided the prey are smaller than them. King cobras feed only on snakes. Common cobras prey on a variety of snakes including common cobras. It is quite unusual, but not unheard of," said S. R. Ganesh, a herpetologist at Chennai snake park.

A 6-foot-long cobra, rescued from a drain in Sipcot industrial estate in Cuddalore district, also reportedly spat out a 4-foot-long rat snake in August 2021.

Meanwhile, in June of this year, a man in Georgia saw a snake eating another snake while walking to collect his mail.

Tom Slagle, 80, spotted the kingsnake eating a venomous timber rattlesnake, NDTV reported.

The Georgia resident captured footage of the event. The video showed the bottom half of the rattlesnake sticking out from the kingsnake's mouth.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) posted the clip on social media with the caption, "Kingsnake vs. Timber Rattlesnake: It's a snake eat snake world out there."

Georgia DNR also said in the caption, "If the snake being eaten is longer than the kingsnake, it will get folded before being swallowed."

The rattlesnake, which was being consumed, appeared heavier than the kingsnake.