The 'cunning' snake knows how to pretend to be dead and spit out its own blood like in the movies

Like a talented theater actor, the strange snake smeared itself, crawled around, then lay still, opened its mouth, stuck out its tongue, pretended to vomit blood. to pretend to be dead.

A study recently published in the scientific journal Biology Letters has described the ability of Natrix tessellata (Natrix tessellata), a non-venomous water snake distributed in many Asian and European countries, to fake death. North Africa.

Dr. Vukasin Bjelica of the University of Belgrade and his colleagues observed reticulated snakes living on Golem Grad - an island on a lake in North Macedonia - and found that they are talented theater actors.

Most snakes flee or fight when attacked. But with this strange snake, when surrounded, it immediately. pretends to be dead .

The checkered snake in Golem Grad has the unique ability to pretend to be dead - (Photo: BIOLOGY LETTERS)

The research team led by Dr. Bjelica captured and tested 263 snakes, lunging after them and grabbing their midsections to stimulate the most defensive behaviors.

While being careful not to hurt the snakes, they hold them, gently squeeze them, and stretch them out on the ground, imitating the actions of a predator hesitating to eat its prey.

According to The New York Times , they recorded a series of surprising and sometimes laugh-out-loud acts.

Nearly half of the snakes rolled over to smear themselves with a pungent mixture of musk and dung. Many animals began to crawl, stagger, lie still, open their mouths, stick out their tongues.

To add to the drama, some animals even pretended to let blood flow from their mouths, foaming.

According to the authors, it is a high-risk strategy, but effective when surrounded and with no way out.

Some predators dislike carrion and are disgusted by an animal that smells, writhes, or appears dead.

Otherwise, it is also a golden opportunity for the snake because when it thinks its prey is dead, the predator, even if it does not give up, will be more lax, possibly loosening the siege and creating conditions for the snake to have a chance. escape society.

Many different species in the animal kingdom pretend to be dead when disturbed by predators, including insects, fish, amphibians, and even some mammals.

The authors also note that the reticulated snakes on Golem Grad island are an unusual population , as they are often hunted by many species of birds.

Therefore, it is unclear whether reticulated snakes in other places have the ability to fake death so skillfully or not. More research is still needed on many other populations to clarify the unique abilities of this snake.