A cow has mystified and concerned its owner after it was found munching down on a 4-foot-long python.
This bizarre incident occured in the Indian state of Jharkhand, and was spotted by the cow’s owner Sanjay Singh.
Shocked, Singh proceeded to snatch the snake from his cow’s mouth.
“The snake somehow slithered into the cow shed. When I went into the shed to feed the cow, I saw a portion of the snake’s body hanging out from the mouth of the cow. I immediately pulled the snake residue out from the cow’s mouth,” Singh told local news India Times.
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Fearing the snake was venomous, Singh called a veterinarian to check out his cow.
India is home to a diverse array of snake species, ranging from harmless to highly venomous. Some of the most venomous include the Indian cobra—known for its iconic hood and potent, neurotoxic venom—the common krait, Russell’s viper, the king cobra, and the saw-scaled viper, among others.
Thankfully, the snake in the cow’s mouth turned out to be a non-venomous python, and the cow was found to be in perfect health.
The species of python the cow was chewing on was not specified, but India is home to two main types: the Indian rock python and the Burmese Python. These snakes kill their prey by constriction rather than injecting venom.
The constriction process gradually cuts off the prey’s blood flow and oxygen supply, leading to unconsciousness and eventual death. The python will continue to constrict until it senses that the prey is no longer moving and is completely subdued. Once the prey is dead, the python will begin the process of swallowing it whole. Pythons have incredibly flexible jaws and stretchy skin that allow them to consume prey much larger than their own head.
The reason the cow had a snake in its mouth is unclear, however veterinarian Pramod Kumar told the India Times that the cow may have been chewing on it due to a mineral deficiency.
“Bovines have a disease called pica. Where there is an onset of pica, cows behave abnormally. They lick urine and eat dung and soil. It is because of a mineral deficiency,” he said. “I have not come across such a case so far.”
Cows have previously been spotted doing this strange behavior, including one case in the Australian Outback in 2020, where a sand python was seen hanging from the mouth of a cow by refrigeration mechanic Andrew Gertz.
Western Queensland cattle grazier and natural historian Angus Emmott noted he had never seen this before, but he also suggested to local ABC news that the cow may have been “chewing it for both protein and trace elements.”
“Their body tells them what they need and they’ll go and chase it down if it’s available,” he said.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.