Mother nature winner and loser (snake vs toad ) be warned

[Jeff Hunt]

It never ceases to amaze how many times I have stumbled across mother nature at work in and around my house. Here are some pics of yet another example of how for one creature to survive, another must die. My dog was just as interested in this event as I was. It took over an hour and a half for the toad to be totally swallowed up by this garter snake.

Cheers,

Jeff

 

[at6]

I would have been rooting for the toad. Score: Snake 1 Toad nil.

 

[parsifal]

Not a venomous snake then I assume.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

It is a garter snake.

I own one just like it as a pet.

 

[Jeff Hunt]

Not a venomous snake then I assume.

Not toxic.

Only one poisonous snake here in Ontario that being the Massasauga Rattle Snake and they tend to be north of where I am.

Cheers,

Jeff

 

[Old Wizard]

Nothing funnier than a pencil sized baby Garter Snake acting like a rattler when cornered. They will strike if provoked. It's just a bluff to startle predators.

 

[Gnomey]

Nice shots! Bet he was pretty full after that...

 

[at6]

Beeeellllllllcccchh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Wayne Little]

Wow!

 

[Marcel]

That's a big prey for a garter. Our only ate the little frog fish

 

[Wurger]

Nice images. To be honest I don't like snakes.

 

[Marcel]

These are totally harmles,Wojtek.
It's a big snake for a gartersnake. Must be an old female. I wonder how the snake could catch the frog. Gartersnakes hardly have any teeth. The frog must have been half dead or very stupid.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

These are totally harmles,Wojtek.
It's a big snake for a gartersnake. Must be an old female. I wonder how the snake could catch the frog. Gartersnakes hardly have any teeth. The frog must have been half dead or very stupid.

Actually we see them here in the marsh eating fish and frogs all the time. They are very fast, and the jaws are still very strong.

I actually feed mine live fish from time to time (as a treat), and he loves it.

 

[Wurger]

These are totally harmles,Wojtek.

I know. There is a cousin of the garter snake living in Poland. It is called "zaskroniec" because of light spots behind eyes.

 

[Old Wizard]

We have three varieties of garter snakes here, along with the Prairie Rattler and the Bull Snake. The Bull Snake eats rodents and other snakes, including the Rattler.
Any Bulls I've picked up were quite docile.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

We have three varieties of garter snakes here, along with the Prairie Rattler and the Bull Snake. The Bull Snake eats rodents and other snakes, including the Rattler.
Any Bulls I've picked up were quite docile.

My wife has a 6ft Bull Snake at her work. It is very very docile. Lets you pick him up anytime and loves to be held. She uses it as a program animal for school classes.

 

[GrauGeist]

A few years back, we were on a path down by the lake one summer morning. As we came around a corner on the narrow path, there was a pretty good sized rattler (about 36 inches/ roughly 1 meter) sunning himself. Both we and the snake were startled, the snake immediately coiling up and we stood completely still.

While weighing my options, a California King snake came out of the brush and attacked the rattler in a brutal example of nature at work. We kept standing totally still, not because of any danger, but because it was a sight you just never see in the wild (and of course, one of many times I didn't have my camera with me)...

 

[Wildcat]

Stuff that. In my part of the world you don't pick up any snake!

 

[Wurger]

It would be better to meet a kangaroo than a rattlesnake methinks.

 

[Vic Balshaw]

It would be better to meet a kangaroo than a rattlesnake methinks.

Much better my friend, though get the roo riled, could be curtains for there is no way you could outrun the fellow. But on the whole they are very docile and just stand and watch you or bound off if unsure.

That garter snake however would not be wanting to eat one of our cane toads.