Python Eats Itself To Death After Porcupine Punctured Its Stomach

When this snake decided a plump porcupine would make a nice meal, it clearly did not anticipate his food would be having its revenge.

This bloated 13ft African rock python ate itself to death after its innards were punctured with dozens of quills from the spiky 2st rodent.

It was discovered by a mountain biker, lying next to a cycle track at Lake Eland Game Reserve, near Port Shepstone, South Africa.

Reserve managers found it python dead beneath a rocky ledge, where it had been trying to digest its final meal.

Reserve general manager Jennifer Fuller said: "The exact reasons for the snake's death are not clear.

"It is apparent that several porcupine quills were lodged inside the digestive tract. "It had fallen off the rocky ledge."We don't know if it died beforehand, or whether the fall drove some of the quills into its digestive tract."

Whereas some predators will be warned off by the visual threat displays of a porcupine, many snake species rely on thermal or chemical sensory mechanisms to ambush prey at night.

This means they often do not see the spikes until it is too late.

Culled From Mirror