A life-and-death battle takes place when the mongoose attacks the world’s most venomous snake

A fearless mongoose takes on a large venomous Black Mamba snake and comes out unscathed and victorious over one of Africa’s deadliest.

35-year-old Field Guide Ankia Pusey was driving on the S130 Gomondwane Loop in the south of the Kruger National Park when she came across a fierce battle between a Black Mamba and a mongoose. This sighting was shared on the Latest Sightings page.

“It was a cool day with soft rain. The road was quiet, and there were no other vehicles in sight. We took it slow, did some birding, and looked for tracks and signs of animals in the area. I then heard starling alarm calls and informed my guests that the starlings had been disturbed by something, most likely a snake or an owlet.”

Always be weary and alert to the sounds around you when out on safari. Alarm calls from various species may lead you to great moments in the bush, and that was exactly the case with Anika.

“I stopped the open safari vehicle, and we then saw the starlings dropping down towards a sickle bush. That’s when we saw a movement inside the bush. At that point, I realized it was a snake, and we saw the large Black Mamba move a little higher up, towards the top of the bush, still in between the leaves and twigs. Suddenly, the Slender Mongoose went straight towards the mamba from the bottom of the bush, through the leaves and twigs.”

“The mongoose bit the mamba on its body and ran down the bush to escape the snake. The Mamba then moved to the top of the sickle-bush and lay there. The Slender Mongoose then came back up, bit the mamba a second time, and moved back down again. This continued for about 30 minutes, with multiple attacks from beneath the mamba.

“The mongoose then came to the top of the bush and faced the mamba. The mamba reared up and opened its mouth, but the mongoose was fast and went back down into the bush. Again, this carried on for a while. The mongoose managed to bite the snake a few more times without causing serious damage to the snake or being bitten.”

“The Mamba was exhausted and defeated at this point. The mongoose left and moved off eventually. The starlings came back and started mobbing and irritating the snake. This forced the snake to retreat to safety, and it left.”

Most of the time, when mongooses attack snakes, they’ll kill the snake. We will never know why this mongoose left the snake after about an hour. Perhaps it was a female mongoose with young in the area, and she just wanted to make sure it didn’t get to her young.

“It’s not a very common sighting to witness. I’ve only seen it happen twice – and I spend most of my time in the bush. This was the first time I’ve ever had the opportunity to see it properly and manage to get some photos. The cherry on top was that I was alone with my guests at this incredible sighting.”

Snakes are fearsome predators, and few animals dare to “play around” with this cold-blooded animal. In the opposite direction, the mongoose, despite its relatively small size, is the “opposite” of all snakes, regardless of how strong their venom is.

In a video shared on social networks, an extremely fierce battle between a golden mongoose can be seen against a dangerous opponent, the king cobra.

The mongoose is the more active one, as they constantly rush in with their attacks. And the cobra seems to be quite bewildered, when half wants to fight, half wants to run away. However, it also delivered many fatal bites towards the mongoose, leaving the animal in tatters and shaking.

The mongoose makes full use of its speed to constantly move to dodge attacks, while waiting for the snake to open, then grab the neck and squeeze it with its teeth.

After a while of fighting, both animals fell into a state of exhaustion. The cobra is almost motionless, lying with its head on the ground. The mongoose is barely able to walk, with its hind legs almost paralyzed.

The golden mongoose (Cynictis penicillata) is a member of the mongoose family, averaging 0.45 kg, 50 cm long.

Despite their small size, in fact, carnivorous mongooses, known as opportunistic and excellent predators, are capable of provoking their prey with their good hearing and foresight. so they feed quite easily and grab their prey quickly thanks to their sharp teeth.

Their favorite prey are termites, grasshoppers, crickets… but can also be rodents such as mice, rabbits, or small birds. They are also capable of hunting other carnivores such as jackals and venomous snakes.

In particular, the most special in mongoose is probably the ability to be immune to the poison of snakes, especially cobras, which helps them confidently hunt these species. It is known that the poisons of many snake venoms, including cobras, work by binding to the victim’s acetylcholine receptors, blocking communication between the nervous system and muscles, leaving the victim fell into a state of paralysis.

In 1995, however, molecular biologist Sara Fuchs and her colleagues discovered that the receptor in mongooses is similar to that of the snake itself, but slightly mutated so that the venom is single. simply do not interact with muscle cells.

Besides, the thick coat and incredible speed of the mongoose are also extremely useful in “one-on-one” battles.