During a trip to the Sabi Sand animal reserve in South Africa, businessman Jors Dannhauser, 56, and his family were lucky enough to witness the hunt from one of the most venomous and dangerous snakes in the world.
That evening, Mr. Dannhauser was on his way back to the hotel to rest after a long day of wandering the desert roads when he suddenly encountered something strange.
Looking closely, Dannhauser was startled to discover a king cobra slithering across the road, with a lizard next to it.
Knowing it would be a good show, the businessman immediately took out his camera to capture the best footage.
The king cobra is the largest venomous snake, with the scientific name “Ophiophagus hannah” meaning “snake eater” in Greek.
It is not by chance that they have such a name, because in fact the king cobra’s favorite food is its own kind.
The king cobra is not only the king of snakes but also the terror of reptiles, including lizards.
Just like in the clip, the snake did not rush to attack but took the time to observe the behavior of its prey. It is not known whether it was due to pressure from the hunter or was bitten and poisoned, but the lizard showed no signs of running away or fighting back, it just stood still and endured the attack.
Feeling reassured, the king cobra decided to take action. It lunged forward, coiled its entire body around the lizard, and then used all its strength to bite down on its prey.
Close in on your prey.
Lizards have thick skin that is immune to poison, however, when facing a king cobra, that shield becomes useless.
The king cobra’s venomous bite penetrates the prey’s body, causing all resistance to gradually weaken.
The venom of the king cobra is mainly a neurotoxin, which includes neurotoxins, cytotoxins, and a few other compounds. These substances can damage nerve tissue and disable cells. The king cobra is capable of injecting a large amount of venom, about 200 to 500 mg, into the victim in a single bite. The venom of the king cobra will cause rapid loss of vision, paralysis, followed by respiratory failure, cardiac arrest, and death.
Use the ultimate move to coil up the prey and then swallow it whole.
Finally, the snake only needs to complete a simple yet terrifying task – swallowing its prey right before the viewer’s eyes.
Unlike other carnivores, snakes do not have jaws, they only have two fangs. Snakes eat by swallowing their prey whole because their jaws can flexibly open 180 degrees.
A cobra can swallow a python as big as itself, or a bird 10 times its head size.
