Squirrel vs Cape Snake
When the young are involved, whether it is humans or animals mothers usually let out the crazy side of themselves and do everything to protect their babies.
The urge to save them is greater than the urge to save their own lives.
Research has established a reason behind this act lies in the love hormone, Oxytocin during an experiment with rats. This hormone drives a mother to protect her young ones.
It also plays a role in social interaction and breastfeeding. The results gave evidence that when mothers are protecting their young, it is oxytocin that triggered this defense mechanism.
Dave Pusey, a 41-year old safari guide for Leo Vantage Safaris shared a video of a sighting of a squirrel with Kruger Sightings Youtube channel bravely fight and taunt a cobra to protect her babies.
He was in the park on the Mata Mata road when he filmed this sighting. He said that snake sighting in this area is not unexpected because there many snake sightings in the soft sand after some rain so a Cape cobra showing up is no surprise.
However, the snake seemed to be very tense and ready to strike, and just inches away from it they noticed a ground squirrel.
They could not believe what they saw and was even worried at first for the squirrel. But were amazed at the bravery and speed of the squirrel creeping up to the snake to get closer to it.
The snake would launch forward and snap a bite at the squirrel but the squirrel is quick to react and jumped out of reach of the bite every time.
This once in a lifetime as Dave Pusey described it, is truly remarkable. They waited for about half an hour to see the ending of this fascinating story until the snake took refuge in some bush and found a hole there and slither into.
Just then did the squirrel started relaxing and carried on with her business. Most likely, the squirrel has her youngsters nearby and wanted the snake to move away from the area.
Mother squirrel is truly fast and furry-ous that even a snake backed-off and went into hiding. The David-Goliath encounter has caught attention on the internet.
One armchair wildlife expert commented on the squirrel mom's heroic acts at how amazing it is that she used her tail to confuse the snake and make it strike it instead.
Another one joked that it looked like a Pokemon battle just without a trainer.
However, this interspecies showdown is common. According to a 2019 News Scientist study Cape ground squirrels regularly fight off offspring-menacing Cape cobras.
The ground squirrels use their tails as a decoy just like what the video has shown and the venom of the cobra can cause respiratory failure within an hour.
Of course, this act of a mother-protecting-her-baby is not exclusive to squirrels. Other animals too protect their young such as orangutans, polar bears, African elephants, cheetahs, and emperor penguins. But some animals don't take care of their young and just let them fend for themselves.
Luckily, the mother squirrel is there for her babies or who knows what may happen to them.
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