Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My son was watching tv and started yelling "Daddy, Daddy, monitors on tv!!" So I went to check it out.
There was (I believe) a croc monitor eating eggs. Along comes a cobra (guess it wanted eggs too), they faced off, trying to look bigger, cobra struck at the croc and the croc left. At first I thought, sissy monitor, until it showed the croc leaving and giving the cobra a good tail whip. I thought that was just too funny. Then it shows the croc didn't need to fight for his food.
All the cobra found was shells.

Scott
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Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

1. I'm not sure the ranges of the two overlap
2. Documentaries are set up. The cameraman didn't happen to be lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, all set up with his/her equipment JUST as a cobra and monitor happened to stumble on some eggs.

Cobras, which are a natural food item for so many large monitor species. Chance are it was set up as DK said, documentaries are notorious for that. I have some video clips from over the years of a whitethroat about 4 ft long killing and eating a larger spitting cobra, and a water monitor (average sized) killing and eating a smaller king cobra. Several species of Aussie monitors eat browns, taipans, etc. Of course the bosc (savannah) monitor is also a normal part of the cobra and African garter snakes diet. Many large species show immunity to cobra bites as theres no way a cobra cannot pierce their skin during a bite, their skin is tough but not that tough. In fact cobras eat small monitors the same way they do other snakes, suffocate by swallowing them. Im sure a croc monitor eats cobras also as an adult.

Live in the same places.

There is a seen like that on the documentary from national geographic. It is called Thunder Dragons.

It might have been a water, it was on national geographic. It was a show about all kinds of animals, whales, fish, eagles monitors, just a jumble of animals.
I did see the show with an albig killing and eating a spitting cobra.

Scott
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Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

I have observed many monitor x snake interactions in captivity and one I definitely have not witnessed is a snake willingly approach a monitor of same or greater size. Most cobras make good monitor food in Africa and Southeast Asia.

Well, when I was watching it I thought"dumb a$$ snake" but then again it's amazing what somethings will do when hungry enough.
My son has accually challenged his big sister for the last banana
not a wisw thing to do. lol

Scott
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Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.