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Published 18:02 IST, August 17th 2019

WATCH: Kingsnake allegedly tries to eat itself out of hunger, rescued later

Snakes are considered to be one of the deadliest predators in the world. In an unusual instance, one snake attempted to eat itself in order to curb its hunger. 

Reported by: Shloak Prabhu
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Snakes are considered to be one of the deadliest predators in the world. In an unusual instance, one snake attempted to eat itself in order to curb its hunger. The shocking incident was captured by Jesse Rothacker, a worker at the Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary in Pennsylvania. The visuals show a Kingsnake who has swallowed almost half of its body. Watch the video here:

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The ghastly video shows the Kingsnake which had already swallowed itself. Moreover, when Rothacker intervened to rescue the snake, it refuses to let go and constantly resisted any attempts by Rothacker. Rothacker initially started the rescue by tapping on its nose, a technique which creates a disturbance while the snake is preying on its food. Throughout the video, Rothacker explained and gave brief information about the snake and stated the reasons for its actions. It appeared that the snake took these steps because of its hunger. 

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“They will sometimes see their own tail, they’ll think it’s a snake, they’ll take a bite out of it, and they’ll realize they’ve bitten themselves,” Rothacker said

"He's not the smartest Kingsnake around." Rothacker added

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According to the Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary, the serpent took himself for a different snake. It happens often when the snake attacks and preys on other species. However, things got haywire with this Kingsnake attempted to eat itself. But it ended up getting treated as the authorities later served a frozen mouse:

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But Netizens were left in splits after watching the horrific video. Read some of the comments here:

"That is crazy!??"

"It's unbelievable" 

WATCH: Itchy bear gives zoo visitors a performance, netizens term him Jungle Book's Baloo 

"May not've done so well on the SATs!" Incredible." 

"Are we sure he wasn't trying to commit suicide?"

READ: Uttar Pradesh: Drunk Man Bites Snake Into Pieces After Getting Bit, Netizens Horrified By 'tit-for-tat' Policy

According to the Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary, Kingsnakes are found across the United States, and are known for eating other snakes. Kingsnakes are even immune to rattlesnake and copperhead venom. 

17:28 IST, August 17th 2019