Watch: Mother Rabbit Viciously Attacks Snake—Find Out Why
In a new YouTube video, a female cottontail attempts to disembowel a snake preying on its young—a strategy to prevent it from returning to the nest.
In a new YouTube video, a mother eastern cottontail discovers a snake preying on her babies—and mounts a relentless attack.
As the black rat snake tries to escape, the rabbit repeatedly pulls it back with a vicious bite, and, rolling on her back, kicks the writhing reptile in an attempt to disembowel it, explains Dana Krempels, a biologist at the University of Miami in Florida.
"Not so cute and cuddly, are they?" laughs Krempels, who has rescued and rehabilitated rabbits for 30 years. Though it may come as a surprise to many, "these are not timid little animals," she says. (Also watch: "Mother Owl Takes On Snake—and Wins.")
Mother rabbits are fiercely protective of their babies. Weak, slow, and helpless,
