A mongoose and a snake in the battle of Medga in the Valley of the Springs/photo: Raz Einhorn
The photographer Raz Einhorn managed to document an impressive moment of a terrifying battle between a mongoose and a viper snake - one of nine poisonous snakes in Israel.
It's been a week since Einhorn noticed that near his workplace, next to a fish farm in Kibbutz Nir David, every morning an enormous viper snake emerges.
More about snakes in Vala!
Fear of God: Observe a viper snake swimming in the valley of the springs
For the information of the bathers: a black snake was observed swimming in the Sea of Galilee
similar to a viper: a snake of a species of zaman coins was found in the Knesset
this (Thursday) morning, Eyhanoren noticed near the place where the snake was hiding in a mongoose.
In a moment's decision, he decided to pull out his cell phone and take a picture of the meeting of the animals.
To his amazement, he saw that the mongoose decided to fight the snake and finally managed to capture it as breakfast.
The Nature and Parks Authority stated that the mongoose has a unique ability to deal with the viper's venom, and can therefore fight it and capture it despite its venom.
"The nervous system of the mongoose has receptors that do not react to the venom of the snakes."
The battle between the mongoose and the viper/Nature and Parks Authority, Raz Einhorn
The common mongoose - helps in natural control of pests
The viper
, as written, is one of the nine poisonous snakes that exist in the territory of Israel, most of which live in the desert area, while it inhabits the Mediterranean area.
Its venom glands are located in the back of the skull and give the head a characteristic triangular structure.
A tube runs from the venom glands to the venom teeth which are automatically pulled out when the viper opens its mouth.
The venom teeth are hollow and similar to a syringe when the viper stabs its teeth venom is injected through the tooth into the prey tissue.
The venom paralyzes or kills the prey (the speed depends on its size and the amount of venom injected).
Venoms have different proteins, including enzymes that break down the prey's tissues and actually start the digestive process.
The common mongoose
is a low and elongated mammal in the mongoose family of carnivores.
Its color is gray-brown and its legs and tail are darker than the rest of its body.
Mongooses feed mainly on birds, fruits and vegetables, small mammals, insects, and as you can see in the video, reptiles as well.
The mongooses live in groves and forests, and in agricultural areas.
Many times, the mongooses enter towns and cities in search of organic waste in the garbage cans and food for animals scattered on the streets.
"It is a well-known phenomenon that mongooses know how to deal with snakes in general, and also with the viper, which is considered poisonous," says Dotan Rotem, an open areas ecologist at the Nature and Gardens Authority.
"Molecular studies found that the nervous system of the mongoose has receptors that do not react to the paralyzing venom of the snakes, which makes them resistant to the snake's venom. The mongoose is a very useful animal, and helps in the natural extermination of pests such as rodents. In various parts of the world, mongooses are raised as pets to protect the house against Snakes. In Israel, the mongoose is a protected animal according to the law. In order to reduce the use of poisons in agriculture, we recommend leaving openings in the plantation fences that allow the passage of mongooses and other small predators that will do the job in the natural way and prevent secondary poisoning as a result of improper use of poisons against rodents."
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Animals
mongooses
viper snake
snakes