After falling victim to a python, a kingfisher is consumed in a single swallow.
Is that a swallow? After falling prey to a python in South Africa, a kingfisher is consumed in one swallow.
It is recommended to chew food at least ten times before ingesting, but this juvenile python snake is obviously not one to heed the advice of internet nutritionists. These remarkable photographs document the moment a python devours a kingfisher in a single bite, after spending a half-hour determining how to do so. The serpent was observed foraging for supper in a tree in South Africa's Kruger National Park, catching a bird by surprise.
The serpent can be seen winding its body around the unfortunate bird before bending its head backwards over its body in order to ingest the kingfisher without being injured by its sharp beak. Once the python worked out how to swallow the avian, the meal was over in a matter of seconds.
The images depict the serpent releasing its mandible and using its flexible body to force the kingfisher into its mouth in a single motion. British photographer David Bough discovered the python in the tree at Lake Panic in Kruger National Park while on safari.
He stated, "Lake Panic always appears to provide excellent viewing opportunities."
'We had been told there was a python near the conceal and had been there for about an hour without seeing it, but then we caught a glimpse. We watched for an hour and a half as the juvenile Python figured out the most efficient method to consume such a large meal by folding its head and beak over its body in order to ingest the bird.
