The most astounding feature of these reptiles is their ability to swallow other animals whole.
This 8 foot African rock Python was spotted in the Moremi Game Reserve in Botswana swallowing an Impala whole!
Daily Mail reports:
See more photos after the break.
The images were captured by photographer Fred von Winckelmann, from Eindhoven in the Netherlands, whilst on a game drive. He said: ‘Seeing an African rock python swallowing a young impala is a once-in-a-lifetime sighting.’ He added: ‘The snake was calmly swallowing his meal without giving us any attention, so I was allowed to go belly-down to get eye-level photos of the reptile. ‘We arrived when the snake was starting to dislocate its jaws around the antelope’s waist and in 45 minutes it swallowed the last hooves. ‘That was when we let the python digest it in peace because they are so vulnerable when doing so.’More photos below:
Food baby: The snake’s belly bulges from its massive meal in these pictures taken by a Dutch photographer
Constrictor: Pythons kill by wrapping their bodies around their prey and squeezing them until they suffocate
Crushed: The legs of the hapless impala stick out as the python slowly eats it up
Savage: This picture shows just how wide the snake’s jaws had to open to swallow its massive meal
‘Once-in-a-lifetime
sighting’: The images were captured by photographer Fred von
Winckelmann, from Eindhoven in the Netherlands, whilst on a game drive
at Moremi National Park in Botswana
Preoccupied:
The snake was so caught up in its meal that Mr Winckelmann was able to
lie on his belly almost next to the beast to photograph it on its own
level
Powerful: While there are many predators in Africa able to bring down an impala, few could swallow it whole
Stretchy:
Pythons are able to swallow such large prey thanks to dislocatable jaws
rigged with tendons, muscles and ligaments that can stretch to
extraordinary lengths
Pythons are able to swallow such large prey thanks to dislocatable
jaws rigged with tendons, muscles and ligaments that can stretch to
extraordinary lengths.They first kill their prey by wrapping their bodies around them and crushing them using powerful body muscles.
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