by This is the stomach-churning moment a hungry cobra ʀᴇɢᴜʀɢɪᴛᴀᴛᴇᴅ nine eggs after it ʀᴀɪᴅᴇᴅ an Indian farmer’s henhouse and sᴡᴀʟʟᴏᴡᴇᴅ eggs.
Upon hearing the cackling of the hens, Sham rushed to the coop and to his utter shock, he found a cobra on an ᴇᴀᴛɪɴɢ spree.
Sham Rao, 45, live in Chandrapur, Maharashtra, India said: “We saw this snake around our house several times in past two month. Yesterday, when I found the reptile in our henhouse sᴡᴀʟʟᴏᴡɪɴɢ the eggs after ᴋɪʟʟɪɴɢ my two hens, I was sʜᴏᴄᴋᴇᴅ.”
Sham immediately called a local snake rescuer, Omesh Zire, for help. The snake charmer arrived on the spot and grabbed it by the tail, forcing it to spit out the eggs.
As it lies on the ground, lumps can be seen inside its scaly body as it writhes in discomfort. Slowly but surely the lumps begin to move up its body and sʜᴏᴏᴛ out of its mouth.
The children stood around watching and counting each egg as the snake spit it out.
Omesh said that the cobra was unable to move after sᴡᴀʟʟᴏᴡɪɴɢ the eggs. ᴇᴀᴛɪɴɢ eggs of such weight makes it difficult for the snake to escape quickly. He also said that when he brought the snake out of the hen house, it immediately released its eggs.
Soon after ʀᴇɢᴜʀɢɪᴛᴀᴛɪɴɢ all the eggs, the cobra was released into a nearby forest.
There are several species of snakes that specialize in egg-eating. Strategies differ. As noted, snakes can disarticulate their jawbones on an elastic ligament that allows the mouth to open wide enough to ɪɴɢᴇsᴛ ᴘʀᴇʏ (or eggs).
Egg-ᴇᴀᴛɪɴɢ snakes do this in two ways. One species has actual bony protrusions from the spine that protrude down into the throat. The egg is positioned under these spines and the snake contracts it’s muscles and the egg is broken. The shell is essentially spit out.
The other strategy is simply to sᴡᴀʟʟᴏᴡ the egg and then contract the snake’s “torso” muscles until it breaks…. Again, the shell is passed out through the mouth.
