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In what is believed to be the first encounter captured on video, two wild snakes <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/travel/regions/south-america" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in Colombia</a> were caught fighting over a meal recently in their natural habitats.Danish researchers Henrik Bringsøe and Niels Poul Dreyer published a study on March 22 in Herpetozoa, an open-access journal, highlighting the startling phenomenon.The two red-tailed coral snakes were caught on video struggling to take a caecilian (which looks a lot like an earthworm) from the other.<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/rare-two-headed-snake-undergoes-surgery-missouri" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RARE TWO-HEADED SNAKE UNDERGOES SURGERY IN MISSOURI</a>This <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/odd-news" target="_blank" rel="noopener">incredible scene</a> marked "the first documented instance of kleptoparasitism within the Elapidae family in the wild," Viral Press reported.Many snakes are difficult to study in the wild because of their "secretive habits," researcher Bringsøe noted."Kleptoparasitism, a phenomenon in which one predator steals food from another, is well-documented across various animal species but has rarely been <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/science/wild-nature/reptiles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">observed among snakes</a> in their natural habitats," Viral Press also reorted.The tug-of-war action between the two Micrurus mipartitus snakes showcases the dominance of the reptiles both over the amphibian and each other.<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/snake-discovery-explorers-identify-new-species-of-anaconda-biggest-all" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SNAKE DISCOVERY AS EXPLORERS IDENTIFY NEW SPECIES OF ANACONDA THAT'S THE 'BIGGEST OF ALL'</a>Elapid snakes are known for being a formidable force in the animal kingdom. This includes other species such as mambas, cobras, kraits, taipans, tiger snakes, death adders, sea snakes and coral snakes, Bringsøe told Fox News Digital.The impressive display took place in the rainforests of Valle del Cauca in western Colombia, the news organization noted.As the footage continues, one snake bites the body of the other — a moment believed to be attributed to the struggle and not "deliberate aggression."After working hard to take hold of its prize, the losing coral snake lets go of the caecilian — and the winner grabs the meal before fleeing the scene.Bringsøe and Dreyer noted that this behavior has been observed in captive settings — but two or even <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/australian-girl-swings-large-snake-several-times-rescue-pet-guinea-pig-video" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more snakes battling</a> one another for a single meal in the wild has not been documented, Viral Press said."Snakes in captivity do that often when only one prey is offered in a terrarium with two or more snakes. But it is rather surprising that it has not been observed more frequently in the wild," Bringsøe shared with Viral Press.The discovery will serve as research for those who continue to look into <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/science/wild-nature" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the wild behaviors</a> of these elusive creatures in their natural habitats, those connected to the incident indicated.<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/newsletters?cmpid=fnfirstnl" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER</a>"An important thing for me when I study snakes and other reptiles in the wild is that you will have to devote much time [to] this work. Then I may now and then observe behavior, which is unusual or even unique," Bringsøe said."I have already been in contact with several herpetologists who realize that we should focus more on this interesting behavior," he said. "It may well occur more frequently than we think. So, I think one positive consequence for the future is that our paper can increase the awareness of behavioral studies of snakes: They are important for our understanding of these creatures, which are in several ways still poorly understood. Kleptoparasitism is just one fascinating element of complex serpent behavior."<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle">For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle</a>.

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published: 2024-04-02 18:56:54.000000000 Z
carlessian_info:
 news_filer_version: 2
 newspaper: US - Fox News
 macro_region: USA
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 guid: https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/wild-snakes-fight-food-colombian-rainforest-believed-first-time-captured-video
title: Wild snake fight over food in Colombian rainforest is believed to be first
 time captured on video
categories:
- 3dd51b1e-f2e1-52bb-9356-480a7dee2fc5
- fnc
- Fox News
- fox-news/lifestyle
- fox-news/science/wild-nature/reptiles
- fox-news/odd-news
- fox-news/science/wild-nature
- fox-news/travel/regions/south-america
- fox-news/world
- fox-news/lifestyle
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content: 'In what is believed to be the first encounter captured on video, two
 wild snakes <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/travel/regions/south-america"
 target="_blank" rel="noopener">in Colombia</a> were caught fighting over a meal
 recently in their natural habitats.Danish researchers Henrik Bringsøe and
 Niels Poul Dreyer published a study on March 22 in Herpetozoa, an open-access journal,
 highlighting the startling phenomenon.The two red-tailed coral snakes were
 caught on video struggling to take a caecilian (which looks a lot like an earthworm)
 from the other.<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/rare-two-headed-snake-undergoes-surgery-missouri"
 target="_blank" rel="noopener">RARE TWO-HEADED SNAKE UNDERGOES SURGERY IN
 MISSOURI</a>This <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/odd-news"
 target="_blank" rel="noopener">incredible scene</a> marked "the first documented
 instance of kleptoparasitism within the Elapidae family in the wild," Viral Press
 reported.Many snakes are difficult to study in the wild because of their
 "secretive habits," researcher Bringsøe noted."Kleptoparasitism, a phenomenon
 in which one predator steals food from another, is well-documented across various
 animal species but has rarely been <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/science/wild-nature/reptiles"
 target="_blank" rel="noopener">observed among snakes</a> in their natural habitats,"
 Viral Press also reorted.The tug-of-war action between the two Micrurus mipartitus
 snakes showcases the dominance of the reptiles both over the amphibian and each
 other.<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/snake-discovery-explorers-identify-new-species-of-anaconda-biggest-all"
 target="_blank" rel="noopener">SNAKE DISCOVERY AS EXPLORERS IDENTIFY NEW
 SPECIES OF ANACONDA THAT''S THE ''BIGGEST OF ALL''</a>Elapid snakes
 are known for being a formidable force in the animal kingdom. This includes other
 species such as mambas, cobras, kraits, taipans, tiger snakes, death adders, sea
 snakes and coral snakes, Bringsøe told Fox News Digital.The impressive display
 took place in the rainforests of Valle del Cauca in western Colombia, the news organization
 noted.As the footage continues, one snake bites the body of the other — a
 moment believed to be attributed to the struggle and not "deliberate aggression."After
 working hard to take hold of its prize, the losing coral snake lets go of the caecilian
 — and the winner grabs the meal before fleeing the scene.Bringsøe and Dreyer
 noted that this behavior has been observed in captive settings — but two or even
 <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/australian-girl-swings-large-snake-several-times-rescue-pet-guinea-pig-video"
 target="_blank" rel="noopener">more snakes battling</a> one another for a single
 meal in the wild has not been documented, Viral Press said."Snakes in captivity
 do that often when only one prey is offered in a terrarium with two or more snakes.
 But it is rather surprising that it has not been observed more frequently in the
 wild," Bringsøe shared with Viral Press.The discovery will serve as research
 for those who continue to look into <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/science/wild-nature"
 target="_blank" rel="noopener">the wild behaviors</a> of these elusive creatures
 in their natural habitats, those connected to the incident indicated.<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/newsletters?cmpid=fnfirstnl"
 target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR
 LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER</a>"An important thing for me when I study
 snakes and other reptiles in the wild is that you will have to devote much time
 [to] this work. Then I may now and then observe behavior, which is unusual or even
 unique," Bringsøe said."I have already been in contact with several herpetologists
 who realize that we should focus more on this interesting behavior," he said. "It
 may well occur more frequently than we think. So, I think one positive consequence
 for the future is that our paper can increase the awareness of behavioral studies
 of snakes: They are important for our understanding of these creatures, which are
 in several ways still poorly understood. Kleptoparasitism is just one fascinating
 element of complex serpent behavior."<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle">For
 more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle</a>. '
summary: Danish researchers Henrik Bringsøe and Niels Poul Dreyer captured on video
 — potentially for the first time in the natural habitat — footage of two snakes
 battling one another for a meal.
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url: https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/wild-snakes-fight-food-colombian-rainforest-believed-first-time-captured-video
image: https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/03/931/523/snakes-fighting-split.jpg?ve=1&tl=1

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