Kingsnake Caught Constricting Venomous Copperhead Snake

Kingsnakes use constriction to kill their prey and tend to be opportunistic when it comes to their diet; they will eat other snakes including venomous snakes, a situation that you can see in the video above. Kingsnakes will also eat lizards, rodents, birds, and eggs. The common kingsnake is believed to be immune to the venom of other snakes and does eat rattlesnakes, but it is not necessarily immune to the venom of snakes from different places.

The "king" in the name (as with the king cobra) refers to this preying on other snakes.

According to Wikipedia, kingsnakes such as the California kingsnake can exert twice as much constriction force relative to body size as ratsnakes and pythons. Scientists believe such strong coils may be an adaptation to snake and other reptile prey, which can sustain lower blood-oxygen levels before asphyxiating.

Check out this crazy footage of a kingsnake, who doesn't use venom to kill its prey, constricting and eating a very venomous copperhead snake. Wild wildlife indeed! We kinda feel sorry for the snake that is slowly being crushed while still alive, but that is the way Mother Nature works – sometimes she is delightful, and sometimes she scares the socks off most of us. However, this is a perfectly normal thing.