A Kukri snake has been found to eat toads by slicing them open and eating their organs one at a time, all while they are still alive.
The Kukri snake uses its large, knife-like upper teeth to slash its prey and disembowel it. Afterward, the snake plunges its head into its prey's abdominal cavity and devours its contents one organ at a time.
This occurs while the helpless toad is still alive, and after the snake has had its fill, the remaining parts of the toad's body are left to rot.
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A New Study on the Kukri
According to lead study author, naturalist, and amateur herpetologist Henrik Bringsøe, humans need not be concerned with this small colubrid snake because they are harmless to people.
The researchers published their description of the macabre and novel feeding behavior in their new study, published last September 11 in Herpetozoa.
A New Feeding Technique
The study recorded the new albeit grisly eating habit, which has not been previously known to occur in snakes. Snakes have only been observed to rip out chunks of flesh from prey or swallow them whole most commonly.
In the past, researchers have never observed a snake burying its head within its prey's body to slurp up its organs.
According to the study authors, in the Kukri, this process sometimes takes hours.
The unfortunate prey in question is the poisonous toad called the Asian black-spotted or common toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus). It is a thick-skinned, stout toad with a length of two to three inches (or 57-85 mm).
However, the toad does not go down without a fight. It vigorously struggles against the predator, with some secreting their white toxin as a defense mechanism.
According to the authors, the strategy of eviscerating its poisonous prey may be a means for the snake to avoid the toxic secretions and still benefit from its meal.
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Kukri Snakes
The Kukri snakes belong to the genus Oligodon. The word "kukri" refers to the forward-curved Nepalese machete that is evoked by this snake group's slashing teeth.
The study says that kukri snakes are not fatal to humans, although their bite may produce lacerations that heavily bleed. The bleeding is due to the anti-coagulant secreted by special oral glands called Duvernoy's glands found behind the snake's eyes.
Feeding Observations
The study recorded four feeding observations of kukri snakes in Thailand (Oligodon fasciolatus).
The first occurred in 2016. The observers found the toad already dead, with the surroundings littered with blood, indicating a fight. The snake was seen sawing through the body of its victim, making side to side with its head. Afterward, its head slowly entered the opening, where it subsequently pulled out the toad's heart, lungs, liver, and a portion of the gut.
In the second observation on April 22, 2020, the struggle between predator and prey lasted for almost three hours. The snake alternated between attacks and withdrawal, temporarily deterred only by the toad's defense. After winning the battle, the snake proceeded its extraction and feeding while its prey was still breathing.
On June 5, 2020, the third observation was when the snake did not disembowel the toad and instead devoured it whole.
In the fourth observation last June 19, the same evisceration took place.
Speculations
The researchers speculated that the young toad eaten in the third incident might have had less poison than adults, which probably allowed the snake to swallow it whole safely. It is also possible that the snake is immune to the toad's toxins but disembowels it anyway since its large size makes it impossible to be swallowed.
More studies and observations of this snake's interactions and its prey toads are needed to confirm these possibilities.
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