A recent video shows images of wild prairie rattlesnakes in a Colorado den that is home to hundreds of the slithering reptiles. (Courtesy: Project RattleCam via Storyful)
It’s a snake-eat-snake world out there, and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources has the photos to prove it.
Those squeamish photos show a burly, 4-foot-long eastern indigo snake that had eaten not just one, but two other snakes – a young rat snake and a juvenile eastern diamond-backed rattlesnake.
The three snakes.
(Georgia DNR / FOX Weather)
The fates of this trio converged when the indigo snake was picked up last fall in southeast Georgia by wildlife technician Matt Moore.
The Georgia DNR said that after catching and tagging the snake, Moore found that it had regurgitated the rat snake and rattlesnake.
The indigo snake.
(Georgia DNR / FOX Weather)
To make matters more curious, the rattlesnake, which was thought to be dead, ended up showing signs of life about an hour later.
WATCH: BABY RATTLESNAKES EMERGE WHERE THOUSANDS OF SNAKES SEEN SLITHERING IN COLORADO ‘MEGA-DEN’
Additionally, it appeared to have a noticeable bulge, the DNR said. This indicated that the rattlesnake had eaten a large mouse.
Note the area where the mouse is.
(Georgia DNR / FOX Weather)
The rattlesnake was found basking in the sun after this episode. The young rat snake, however, was truly dead.
“This unusual episode not only reveals the indigo’s impressive hunting abilities but also the rattlesnake’s unexpected resilience,” the DNR said. “Nature truly has its surprises!”