This is the dramatic moment a king cobra was found on the roadside locked in fierce death grip with a python.
The two predators clashed in the undergrowth before spilling out in front of passing drivers in Nakhon Si Thammarat, southern Thailand on December 9.
King cobra triumphs after facing death in brutal fight with python
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Incredible images show how the python wrapped its thick body around the cobra and tried to constrict its adversary, which then sank its fangs into its opponent’s neck.
Onlooker Anoochit Preecha watched as the two reptiles both struggled to exert dominance while they were twisted in the fierce duel.
A python and a king cobra were spotted locked in a life or death struggle in southern Thailand earlier this month
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He said: ‘One was fighting for its life, and one was satisfying its hunger. I’m lucky to have witnessed such a rare event.’
Pythons kill their prey by strangling them to death, while cobras strike at the base of their target’s neck to inject a deadly venom.
Anoochit Preecha spotted the fierce duel in Nakhon Si Thammarat on December 9 after stumbling across the snakes on the roadside
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On this occasion, the cobra was able to hold out long enough while its deadly venom weakened the python, causing it to lose its grip. It then slowly died before the cobra swallowed it whole.
Some snakes, including pythons and cobras, engage in cannibalism when they clash over food or territory.
The two predators had initially begun facing off while partially concealed in the plant matter to the side of the road
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Before long though, their dramatic battle had tumbled out onto the side of the road, for any motorist passing by to witness
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The python initially gained the upper hand by wrapping itself around the body of the black king cobra and attempting to squeeze it to death
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However, the cobra responded by sinking its fangs into the neck of the larger snake and letting its venom go to work
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The battle had started with the two snakes partially concealed by shrubbery and plant matter by the side of the road
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With the python’s intense grip on the cobra, the smaller snake had little option but to wait for its venom to take effect
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For a while, the cobra’s struggle seemed to be in vain, with the two large snakes tangled together
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Eventually though, the cobra’s venom took effect and loosened the python’s grip around its body
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At first, it seemed as though the black king cobra was doomed, as the python established an early dominance in the battle