Researchers in Bangladesh has documented a 10-foot Burmese Python swallow alive a reticulated python, an unprecedented encounter with two of the world’s largest snake species.
Wildlife researcher at Akiz Wildlife Farm i Chittagong discovered the Burmese python rolls tight around the other snake and swallow it up from the tail.
It took the python about two hours devour its prey completelyaccording to a report published in the journal Reptiles and amphibians recently.
The incident occurred in October 2020.
The reticulated python tried to defend itself by constricting the Burmese python but loosened its grip after it was subdued, researchers said.
Scientists are puzzled by the behavior because the animal farm had better food options for both snakes.
They suspect that a territorial dispute may have led to one python eating the other.
The Burmese python and the reticulated python are the only types of python found in Bangladesh and they are both on the UN Red List of Threatened Species.
The Burmese python grows up to 16 feet long and is found throughout Bangladesh. The reticulated python, the world’s longest, can grow up to 22 feet and is found in the eastern regions of Sylhet and Chittagong.
The border region of Chittagong between India and Myanmar is a biodiversity hotspot that is home to many species, including the two pythons.
This area is also home to lizards, rodents, monkeys, small carnivores, deer and wild boar, all of which are potential prey for the snakes.
Both pythons, native to South Asia and Southeast Asia, are found mostly in forested areas and occasionally in gardens and farms.
Researchers counted the chickens living at Akiz Wildlife Farm and found that none had been eaten by any of the snakes.
Based on these observations, researchers suspect that the rare incident was probably triggered by a fight for territory.
“To our knowledge, this observation represents the first documented predation by M reticulatus of P bivittatus“, they said.