Gopher Snake eating a wild mouse in S. Cal

Sometimes Nature seems cruel. I witnessed this in the High Desert of S. Cal near Yucca Valley. Seems a nest of mice in an abandoned home were found by a hungry Gopher Snake. When I first found this, the snake had one of the parents in his coils and it was dead from being constricted. One of the babies was outside of the nest crying. I planned on taking him home to save and try to raise. While taking pics and vids of the snake inside the nest (which was inside a wall), I saw him try to begin to swallow the parent through the small hole in the plaster. The mouse was too big, and the snake abandoned it and abruptly exited the nest inside the wall to the area outside where the baby was crying. Before I could react, the snake had the baby mouse in his jaw, head-first. I tried to pull him away, but it was too late and the snake's teeth had a firm hold. Unlike with the parent mouse, the snake did not even attempt to constrict the baby and took him alive. This may be hard to view (I almost cried myself), but understand that this is how our World works... like it or not. This snake truly worked hard for his meal.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• gopher
• snake
• constrict
• bull
• mouse
• hunting
• hunter
• prey
• nature
• wildlife
• reality

[jiggerachi]

wth thats a huge mouse

[nowhinerbabies]

This is funny because I live in this area and just last night I walked down a dark hallway towards my living room and saw a slither across the floor. This is the first time I've ever had a snake actually in my house. I turned on the light quickly to dertermine it was not a diamondback and then gently picked it up and put it out in the shrubs. I come across these guys all the time and go out of my way to save them when they lay in the road because these guys are our friends,natures exterminators.

[packercarlsenac]

beautiful snake wish i could have 1 that looked like that =)

[porteroliver]

it's really beautiful

[heart4herps]

Without snakes we would quickly be overrun with vermin.

[zombiedude1488]

hmm...i always thought bull snakes killed using constriction, prior to eating....

[shaheennobar]

pooooooor mousie.... o welll that life :/

[Hopienme]

@dmc31405 I think this snake might be wild too...

[theoxiiii]

No constriction? Lol xD

[SlyClay117]

That mouse looks like a deer mouse but I'm no expert.