A photographer in the state of Texas (USA) captured an “incredible sight” of a snake gobbling up its meal.
Photographer Ed Means happened to capture the snake’s wild eating experience while trying to photograph a blue heron on the pier in Landa Park, New Braunfels, Texas.
“I heard a noise underwater and the blue heron took off. Then I noticed something moving in the algae. It was so far away that I couldn’t see it clearly with my naked eye. When I looked through the tube. With my 500mm camera lens, I was startled to discover the snake,” Ed Means said.
Looking through the lens, Ed Means discovered the snake was opening its mouth wide, swallowing a large fish on the surface of the water. The photographer captured the moment the snake was devouring its meal from many different angles.
The snake appears to be looking towards the camera with the fish in its mouth. Other photos show the snake opening its mouth wide to swallow the fish whole.
“It was an amazing moment. I’ve never seen anything like it before. I was shocked to see the snake slowly swallow the big fish. It seemed the fish was too big for the snake.” I said.
According to the Florida Museum, this is a water snake that can be between 76 and 152 centimeters long, is non-venomous and usually lives in freshwater habitats. This snake feeds almost exclusively on freshwater fish and frogs. Reptiles overpower their prey by grabbing them with their jaws and then swallowing them whole.
