Do any animals enjoy a tasty meal of venomous snakes? Steve Harris looks at the species that are resistant to deadly venom
Can any animals eat deadly venomous snakes? Several species of mongoose hunt such fearsome prey as venomous snakes, says Steve Harris.
Being fast and agile they often avoid the snakes’ strikes, but they are also resistant to the reptiles’ venom.
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The active ingredient most commonly found in snake poison, alpha-neurotoxin, blocks the messages from the nerves to the muscle cells, paralysing and ultimately killing the victim.
Mongooses exhibit a high degree of resistance to venom, thanks to small changes in the acetylcholine receptors that relay the messages to the muscles.
Mongooses that are bitten generally recover, though Flower, one of the stars of the TV series Meerkat Manor, died after being bitten by a cobra.
A few other mammals also hunt poisonous snakes. The best-known of these is the honey badger (or ratel), which tackles large cobras, puff adders and black mambas – some of the world’s deadliest snakes.
The honey badger’s strategy involves targeting the back of its reptile victim’s head. This mammal’s thick skin helps to protect it from snake bites but, like mongooses, it is also resistant – though not immune – to snake venom.
Finally some snake species hunt and eat venomous snakes too.