by Snake of the year when wearing a hedgehog’s shirt
A boa constrictor in Brazil made the mistake of confronting a porcupine and ended up with dozens of ᴘᴀɪɴꜰᴜʟ quills stuck all over it’s body
The ɪᴍᴘᴀʟᴇᴅ reptile had apparently attempted to ᴇᴀᴛ the porcupine – but came off ᴡᴏʀsᴇ when the animal defended itself with its quills. The snake appears to be writhing in pain as someone filmed it for almost two minutes. Eventually, a dog enters the picture and begins barking at it. Things got even ᴡᴏʀsᴇ for the reptile when the filmmaker’s dog bounded over and started barking at it. That it isn’t unusual for pythons to ᴇᴀᴛ porcupines, and authorities were not able to determine whether or not the porcupine was actually responsible for the python’s ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ. Rangers found the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ snake undernᴇᴀᴛh a ledge, where it had likely fallen. On impact, the ingested porcupine’s quills presumably ᴘɪᴇʀᴄᴇᴅ the python’s intestines, which could have ᴋɪʟʟᴇᴅ the animal. The researchers say that when a snake ᴇᴀᴛs a porcupine, the animal’s quills are left undigested and are easily detectable in the snake’s gut. Sometimes, the quills will even ᴘɪᴇʀᴄᴇ all the way through the snake’s body, they write. Humans can also ᴇᴀᴛ porcupines, according to survivalist experts at the website Wide Open Spaces. “If you’re hungry, one porcupine can feed you for days, supplying you with protein and energy.” And there’s reportedly no need to cook it, because the mᴇᴀᴛ is safe, thanks to the standard porcupine diet of plant, twigs, leaves and tree bark. The rodent’s liver is said to be delicious when chilled in snow and ᴇᴀᴛen fresh. And getting stuck with quills is where having hands gives humans a huge advantage over snakes. It is recommended to sɴɪᴘ them before trying to pull them out, which is said makes the quill loosen in the skin.
The ᴡᴏᴜɴᴅᴇᴅ snake was forced to coil around to defend itself against the canine. One sympathetic user wrote: ‘Help the poor thing out.’ Another viewer added: ‘Bᴀᴅ day for the snake. Put it out of its misery. Looks ᴘᴀɪɴꜰᴜʟ’. However a third seemed to see the funny side, writing: ‘That’s a new fashion statement!’
