The natural enemy of the viper coexists with strength and appearance.

When it comes to natural enemies of poisonous snakes, I believe everyone's first impression is the several mudslides living in Africa, such as mongoose, honey badger, marketeer, etc. They rely on their flexibility and anti-venom ability and often use all kinds of snakes. Playing in the palm of your hand makes people addicted. But what many people don't know is that in the same land in Africa, there is another poisonous snake nemesis that coexists in strength and appearance. Although it does not have the flexibility of a marketeer, nor the anti-poison ability of a honey badger, it relies on Its slender legs has killed countless snakes, and even the most famous poisonous snake, the Black Mamba, can be stunned with a few kicks. It is the secretary bird known as the African "March Eagle". So today we will take a look at why the secretary bird is Known as the natural enemy of snakes. How does it achieve snake capture with its feet?

The secretary bird is a literal translation of English because the straight feathers on its head are always reminiscent of the scribes holding quills in the 19th century, hence the name. Its original name is Snake Vulture. It is a large raptor belonging to the order Nonconformism and Snake Vulture. It is mainly distributed in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa. It usually likes to inhabit more open plains. , mice and rabbits, and other small animals for food. The feathers of the snake vulture are gray-white, and only the wing tips, thighs, tail, and head are dark black. The height is usually 1.2-1.5 meters, and the weight is 2-4 kilograms. The beak is somewhat similar, the eyes behind the beak are clear and energetic, with orange eyeshadow around the eyes, and long eyelashes planted on it, looking very charming, like a graceful and beautiful girl.

Not only is it good-looking, but the figure of the snake vulture is also enviable. Its body is very slender, especially its legs are slender and straight. It is also the longest of all birds of prey. The lower head can only touch the ground. The length of the legs alone is about one meter, occupying a large part of the body. It can be said that all the legs are below the neck. This alone must make countless women jealous. Not to mention the smooth black and white shape of the snake vulture, which instantly raises its temperament and image to a new level. The color of the ink style looks very elegant and dignified, very similar to the red-crowned crane in my country. Therefore, the snake vulture is also listed as the national bird of Sudan, and South Africa has put it on the national emblem and printed it on the coins, which is enough to prove how outstanding the appearance and image of the snake eagle should be.

It may be because the legs are too long, which also makes the snake vultures usually not like to fly. Instead, they like to run on the ground to find food. Sometimes they can walk 20-30 kilometers a day, which is faster than the walking speed of humans. Therefore, Although the legs of the snake vulture are slightly delicate, its strength is very developed, which has become its main offensive weapon. When encountering snakes, the snake vulture does not dive down from the sky like other raptors but runs over with flapping wings like a walking chicken. The scene looks very funny, but don't underestimate it, snakes The leg strength of the eagle is very powerful. The snake eagle under full attack can reach 20 kilograms per kick. If it is a flying kick, it is even stronger, and it is very smart. It will take full advantage of its leg length to continuously attack the opponent The head as if struck with a wooden stick until the opponent was stunned and passed out.

As we all know, although snakes move slowly, their attack speed is surprisingly fast. The reason why the snake vulture can not be bitten when attacking is not only dependent on the attack distance but more dependent on the hard horny armor on its legs. Floor. The legs of the snake vulture are all covered with thick scales below the elbow joint, which enables it to travel freely among the dead grass and thorns. No matter how strong it is, it will not pose any threat to it. Only those snakes that stand taller than it and can bite it will frighten it. Therefore, snake vultures will be extra careful when dealing with large poisonous snakes. Unlike honey badgers and marketeers, which have antibodies, they are still dangerous if bitten.

When encountering a large poisonous snake like the black mamba, the snake vulture usually does not rush directly to attack, especially the snake vulture with a high IQ of birds, which makes it also use detours when attacking. He stopped and flapped his wings provocatively beside the poisonous snake, using his flexible body to dodge back and forth, looking like a martial arts master who was as beautiful as dancing the waltz. But this is not simply dodging. The snake eagle is using the opponent's attack interval to look for opportunities to counterattack. If it sees the opportunity, it will mercilessly kick the opponent's door with a heavy kick, weighing 20 kilograms. Its strength also has hard nails, even a behemoth like the Black Mamba can't hold a few feet, and is usually beaten and flees.

However, the snake vulture does not give the opponent a chance. Although it often runs on the ground, the flying ability of the snake vulture has not declined. It can easily jump to an altitude of 3,000 meters, use the advantage of vision to find the figure of the poisonous snake escaping, and then take advantage of the opponent's failure to respond. , suddenly swooped down, picked it up, carried it into the air, and then threw it heavily on the rock or the ground, the opponent's skin was ripped apart, and finally, it was slowly torn down and feasted. However, not all snakes can be subdued by snake vultures. Due to their size, most birds of prey cannot subdue larger snakes, even snake vultures. Therefore, the prey objects of snake vultures are generally smaller in size. If you encounter large snakes or even pythons, the force of 20 kilograms is very small.

As we all know, non-venomous snakes and pythons are very good at entanglement and strangulation. Because there is no venom, they will not let go when they bite their prey, but will quickly entangle their bodies and use their strength to compete with their prey. Hard to break free. There are also some huge venomous snakes, such as the Gabon Viper and the Bulging Viper Vulture, which are not easy to provoke, not only because they cannot easily subdue them, but more importantly, they have no teeth, even if they kill with great effort It is easy to swallow, so Snake Vulture is inferior to Honey Badger and Snake Marketeer in its ability to catch snakes, but if it is among birds of prey, Snake Vulture is not only responsible for its appearance but also its strength is one of the best.