Snake Swallows Antelope: Python Swallows Antelope Whole Then Regurgitates It To Escape Threat

An Indian rock python snake swallowed an antelope whole then regurgitated it in order to escape threats from locals who wanted to kill it. Wildlife expert Nitish Bambhaniya photographed the event and some of the images are posted below. The last photo is of the antelope after the python spewed it out; a rare sight, though not particularly a nice one.

Nitish was informed of the python eating the baby antelope and rushed to the small village of Billa in the Indian state of Gujarat — 25 miles from where he was at.

Mirror reports that when Nitish arrived, the snake was in the process of eating the nilgai, what is also known as a “blue bull.”

The python successfully hunted a baby blue bull and devoured 80 percent of its body on the edge of an open field. Locals watched as the snake ate its ginormous meal. The snake itself was going to be someone else’s next kill, however, if he didn’t move on quick. The locals feared if the snake was swallowing an antelope, it could easily be a risk to small children in nearby villages and some wanted to kill it. Everyone gathered closer to the snake as it continued consuming the blue bull, but it felt threatened and regurgitated the whole thing.

“Pythons do it so that they can shed body weight and escape faster,” Nitish explains.

After the python spewed out the antelope, it slithered away. Fortunately for the python, Nitish was there. He says:

“… We convinced the villagers not to kill the python and they agreed. Later we caught the python and handed it over to the forest department officials.”

Later on the python was released in a nearby forest by officials.

Pythons have miraculous ability to eat a large animal. In March a python made trending news headlines when it devoured a whole crocodile. The Inquisitr reported on the incident.

On YouTube, several videos can be viewed of python snakes from around the world eating huge prey. A python is capable of consuming larger prey because they have a mechanisms “rigged with tendons, muscles, and ligaments that give the jaw a gymnast’s flexibility,” according to Live Science.

The myth that a snake’s jaws “detach” isn’t true. They stay connected all the time. An elastic ligament pivots and helps two lower jaws move independently of each other. When the snake swallows something like an antelope or any other big animal, it makes the process easier by “slathering it with saliva sauce.”

[Photo Credit: Barcroft Media via Huffington Post UK]