Kangaroo rat defensive kicking of rattlesnake while jumping

High speed recording of a desert kangaroo rat (Dipodomys deserti) defensively kicking away a sidewinder rattlesnake (Crotalus cerastes) in mid-air. The animals are free-ranging in their natural desert habitat at night, and filmed with high speed cameras using near-IR lights invisible to both species. The video is recorded at 500 frames per second, and playback is slowed down about 30 times. This clip shows the ability of kangaroo rats to avoid venom injection even when bitten by using a forceful mid-air kick to dislodge the snake and push it away. Scientific details of this study are published in Freymiller et al (2019, doi 10.1093/biolinnean/blz027). Find more information and additional bonus videos at http://www.ninjarat.org.