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This Is What Happens When a Python Decides to Swallow a Porcupine Whole

4 minute read

Pythons are known for being able to swallow prey several times their size, with incredibly flexible jaws that allow the massive snakes to ingest anything from pigs and cats (or baby wallabies) to antelopes, wildebeests or even humans.

In comparison, a rodent just a fraction of its length and weighing 13.8 kg shouldn’t be much of a problem.

But not if that rodent is a porcupine, as a 3.9-m-long African Rock Python at the Lake Eland Game Reserve in South Africa found out.

The python was found dead over the weekend with the dead porcupine still fully intact inside it — except for several of its sharp quills, which were firmly lodged inside the snake’s digestive tract in what didn’t end up being a very happy meal.

The game reserve posted several images of the grisly find to its Facebook page.

WARNING: Features graphic images.

Read next: What’s the World’s Deadliest Creature?

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Write to Rishi Iyengar at rishi.iyengar@timeasia.com