A snake lies dead in a South African game reserve after swallowing a 30lb porcupine which stabbed it to death with its quills.
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Python dies after eating porcupine [photos]
The four-metre African rock python was found dead next to a cycle track at Lake Eland Game Reserve in South Africa.
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Reserve general manager Jennifer Fuller said: 'The exact reasons for the snake's death are not clear.
'It is apparent that several porcupine quills were lodged inside the digestive tract. It had fallen off the rocky ledge.
'We don't know if it died beforehand or whether the fall drove some of the quills into its digestive tract.'
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While some predators will be warned off by the visual threat displays of a porcupine, many snake species rely on thermal or chemical sensory mechanisms to ambush prey at night.
While some predators are warned off by the visual threat displays of a porcupine, many snakes rely on thermal or chemical sensory to ambush prey at night.
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Source: dailymail.co.uk
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