Bandicoot Rat vs. Croc and Python | National Geographic

to hunters to rodents the hunters
reptiles both found on the floor of the
Indian forest one an Indian rock python
the other a mugger crocodile the rodents
are Bandicoot rats topping out at over a
foot in length the Bandicoot rat is a
scourge of farmers but provides these
reptiles with much needed sustenance the
Indian rock python tracks its prey
relying on heat sensing pits on the side
of its head and on its sense of smell a
snake smells by tasting the air with its
tongue and touching what’s known as a
Jacobson’s organ in its mouth mugger
crocs on the other hand choose a place
where something tasty might show up and
wait sometimes for hours and when
something does the mugger springs to
life able to move quickly after its
intended victim
it is a focused but graceful hunter
while in the water able to dispatch
small prey like the Bandicoot rat with a
quick snap of its powerful jaws
meanwhile the pythons persistent
tracking has paid off after grabbing the
Bandicoot rat with its mouth the Python
wraps itself around the prey suffocating
it it then eats the Bandicoot rat hole
unhinging its jaw and stretching its
elastic skin to swallow the large animal