What are the natural enemies of snakes? A rundown of snakes' natural predators

Snakes have always been seen as fierce animals, feeding on rats, frogs and insects, and some snakes even eat their own kind. In fact, snakes also have natural enemies, so what are the natural enemies of snakes? Do you know them all?

1. The mongoose

The mongoose, also known as the Indian grey mongoose, is agile and mostly lives in tropical jungles, preying on small animals and also eating cobras. It has strong resistance to snake venom, so it is fine even if bitten by a snake. Moreover, the mongoose seems to exist solely to oppose venomous snakes: sometimes when a mongoose is full and has no room left in its stomach, it will still bite a venomous snake to death if it comes across one. It is one of the main natural enemies of snakes.

2. The secretarybird

Basically all vultures can eat snakes, but the secretarybird, as its name suggests, is inevitably closely associated with snakes. The secretarybird can reach 1.2 m in height and has particularly long legs. It is famous for being very capable of eating snakes; basically any snake dies after just a couple of pecks.

3. The honey badger

The honey badger's fur is very coarse, so it fears neither bee stings nor snake bites. It especially loves eating honey, and also very much likes eating snakes. As soon as it sees a snake it will attack on its own initiative. Highly venomous snakes such as the king cobra and mamba are all its food. With its great agility and innate venom resistance, it feels nothing at all after being bitten by a venomous snake, or at most lies down for a short sleep and then gets up lively again. It is also one of the natural enemies of snakes.

4. The king cobra

The king cobra is one of the most dangerous snakes in the world, also known as the hamadryad. Although it is called the “king cobra”, this species is different from true cobras: it is not a member of the genus Naja but belongs to its own separate genus, Ophiophagus. Compared with other cobras, it is fiercer in temperament and reacts with extreme agility, turning its head and neck flexibly, and it delivers a large amount of venom. Its main food is its close relatives -- other snakes -- so in the territory of a king cobra, other kinds of snakes are rarely seen.

5. The hedgehog

Generally snakes cannot afford to provoke a hedgehog. Wild hedgehogs will drive away rats and snakes from the area where they live, acting like a free gardener, though sometimes they will also steal a few of your fruits to eat. The hedgehog moves rather slowly, but the coat of sharp spines it grows determines that it is no ordinary creature. When it meets an enemy it curls up its body and raises its spines, so that even large fierce beasts cannot bite it; of course, snakes have no way to deal with it either. Usually, when a snake meets a hedgehog covered in sharp spines, it has no way to deal with it and can only give up.

The above is the natural enemies of snakes compiled for you by Tuliu web editor. Do you understand them all now?