This is the incredibly bizarre and rare moment a snake fakes its own death in a bid to deter potential predators.
The eastern indigo snake was spotted on the ground in Mission, Texas, USA, by Eric Johnson, who noticed the unusual behaviour.
When approached by Mr Johnson, the cold-blooded creature began to squirm vigorously to get away but, realising it can’t, it stopped dead, mouth gaping and contorts its neck to appear as if it is broken.
The reptile remains limp and lifeless as Mr Johnson inspected it, but when the self-taught snake expert stepped away it ‘came back to life’, darting its tongue forward as if nothing is wrong.
Bizarre behaviour: Snake appears to play dead to deter predatorsLoaded: 0%Progress: 0%0:00PreviousPlaySkipMuteCurrent Time0:00/Duration Time2:13FullscreenNeed Text
The indigo snake’s mouth gaping and contorts its neck to appear as if it’s broken in Texas
Mr Johnson, also from Mission, said: ‘I have never seen anything like this before.
‘I’m not sure if this is a defensive mechanism or something to do with an underlying problem in the area.
‘This type of behaviour has been sparsely documented in other species of snake, but never to my knowledge in this kind.’
Even stranger though, as he approached the strange serpent once more and waves his hand over its head, the snake once again returns to its seemingly lifeless state on demand, as if being conducted by his movement.
He said: ‘There has been questions of invasive parasite and fungal diseases in the area, but I haven’t discovered anything to provide cause as to why snakes in the area are behaving like this.
‘It’s such a strange and unprecedented encounter. For now the reason why it’s happening will have to remain a mystery.’
Kristen Wiley, co-director of the Kentucky Reptile Zoo, Slade, Kentucky, USA, however believes it to be unlikely that the snake is exhibiting unique behaviour by intentionally ‘playing dead’.
The cold-blooded creature begins to squirm vigorously to get away but, realising it can’t, the snake stops dead
Eric Johnson inspected it and but when the self-taught snake expert steps away it ‘comes back to life’, darting its tongue forward as if nothing is wrong
She said: ‘Without seeing more of the before and after, it isn’t definitive enough to state that the snake is playing dead.
‘There are a number of factors that could explain the behaviour, it could be the result of illness or injury, renal failure for instance.
‘We also don’t know if or how long the snake was chased for before the video, it could be over-shocked or exhausted.
‘It’s certainly an interesting encounter, but I think that it’s more likely there’s something wrong with it, than it showcasing a newly learned defence mechanism.
‘This is too much of an isolated case for it to be definitive.’
