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ophiophagy
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ophiophagy

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Ophiophagy (Greek: , ) is a specialized form of feeding or alimentary behavior of animals which hunt and eat snakes. There are ophiophagous mammals (such as the skunks and the mongooses), birds (such as snake eagles, the secretarybird, coucals and some hawks), lizards (such as the common collared lizard), and even other snakes, such as the Central and South American mussuranas and the North American common kingsnake. The venomous king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is also named for this habit.

~5 min read

Encyclopedic overview

5 sections
Contents
  • Ophiophagy in myth and legend
  • Practical use
  • Immunity
  • References
  • External links

Ophiophagy (Greek: , ) is a specialized form of feeding or alimentary behavior of animals which hunt and eat snakes. There are ophiophagous mammals (such as the skunks and the mongooses), birds (such as snake eagles, the secretarybird, coucals and some hawks), lizards (such as the common collared lizard), and even other snakes, such as the Central and South American mussuranas and the North American common kingsnake. The venomous king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is also named for this habit.

thumb|Great blue heron with a [[snake]]

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “ophiophagy” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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