Fun fact! Not being venomous, one of the grass snake's defense tactics is to feign death by becoming completely limp - as you can see, they a very good at it! The process, called thanatosis, is an effective defense against most predators, which only consume live prey. The grass snake is harmless to humans and performs a valuable role in the ecosystem as a predator of rodents.
It's a common trick of a nonvenomous snake - play dead to fool predators. And yes, he's absolutely alive :) Please check my another spotting of this european grass snake i took before he start "acting".
15 Comments
OMG cool snake
He's a "Name's the Same" organism -- Natrix natrix!
AWESOME!
Very cute, but he forgot to include the tip of his tail in his "I'm dead Act"!! :)
He has a beautiful belly! Love the video.
Fun fact! Not being venomous, one of the grass snake's defense tactics is to feign death by becoming completely limp - as you can see, they a very good at it! The process, called thanatosis, is an effective defense against most predators, which only consume live prey. The grass snake is harmless to humans and performs a valuable role in the ecosystem as a predator of rodents.
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It's a good actor!
Wow! Awesome series!! That was actually very cute!
gr8 shot indeed
Thanks!
wow!!!awesome shot..rare sightings
That is cool, I have seen a possum play dead, but not a snake.
A rare chance to see the interesting belly pattern of this snake.
That's soo cool! I thought when they play dead, it would be more like they stay so quiet, but not like a dog with the tongue out and all!
It's a common trick of a nonvenomous snake - play dead to fool predators. And yes, he's absolutely alive :) Please check my another spotting of this european grass snake i took before he start "acting".
Playing dead? Really? Or just dead? That can be a really dangerous game!