An incredible video shows a mother rabbit relentlessly pursuing the snake who ᴋɪʟʟᴇᴅ her babies. The mother rabbit returned to her nest to find a large black snake curled up on top of her babies. Two were already ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, but at least one little rabbit was still ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ.
In the clip, the long black snake is first seen curled around the tiny baby as it prepares to ɢᴏʀɢᴇ itself. But the reptile’s lazy afternoon feast doesn’t quite go to plan after the bunny’s mother suddenly realises what has happened to her child.
When the mama rabbit returned to her nest and saw what was going on. She completely FLIPPED OUT and did a massive hop onto the snake and began ʙɪᴛɪɴɢ it. At this point, the snake realized he messed up, big time, and let go of the last sᴜʀᴠɪᴠɪɴɢ baby.
The snake quickly attempted to slither away while the mom looked over her two ᴅᴇᴀᴅ babies that weren’t so lucky. After she realized they were ᴅᴇᴀᴅ she went ʙᴇʀsᴇʀᴋ on the snake – ʙɪᴛɪɴɢ it, pinning it down and ᴀɢɢʀᴇssɪᴠᴇʟʏ ᴋɪᴄᴋɪɴɢ it with her back legs.
Dᴇsᴘᴇʀᴀᴛᴇʟʏ, the snake attempts to slither away from impending ᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀ, but the rabbit isn’t about to give up without a ꜰɪɢʜᴛ. It then chases the snake around the garden before finally sinking its teeth into the reptile’s skin. Tᴇʀʀɪꜰɪᴇᴅ, the snake fled through the bushes, knowing to never mess with the rabbit family again.
Mother rabbits are ꜰɪᴇʀᴄᴇʟʏ protective of their babies. Weak, slow, and helpless, their eyes don’t even open until almost a week after birth, making them an easy dinner for many ᴘʀᴇᴅᴀᴛᴏʀs: Weasels, rats, cats, and of course snakes, to name a few.
The snake in the video, apparently shot somewhere in the eastern U.S., is a black rat snake, a common, non-venomous snake that sǫᴜᴇᴇᴢᴇs its ᴘʀᴇʏ to ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ. Though the ᴄᴏɴsᴛʀɪᴄᴛᴏʀ ᴋɪʟʟᴇᴅ two of young bunnies, a third hopped away, apparently unharmed.
The mother rabbit didn’t succeed in ᴅɪsᴇᴍʙᴏᴡᴇʟɪɴɢ the snake with her clawed ᴋɪᴄᴋs, but she wasn’t going to let it get away ᴜɴsᴄᴀᴛʜᴇᴅ. Her goal was to both chase the snake out of her nest and ʜᴜʀᴛ it enough so it wouldn’t (or couldn’t) come back.
Most baby rabbits are ᴋɪʟʟᴇᴅ by ᴘʀᴇᴅᴀᴛᴏʀs while still in the nest, forcing them to leave it in as few as ten to twelve days. Even then, they continue to ɴᴜʀsᴇ from their mother, staying close for several more weeks.