This is a rare photograph of an Aussie feral cat (much hated by Aussies) killing a venomous mulga snake. The cat has blood on his nose and mouth. From the photo it is not entirely clear that the cat won the battle but it’s clear enough. The cat looks fine. He appears to have a firm grip of the snake in his jaws. The cat has a dodgy right eye. It did not stop a successful kill against a fast-moving animal.
The comments for the picture indicate a strong favouritism towards the snake. They want the snake to kill the cat. This would be very unlikely as most domestic and feral cats have the reflexes to safely capture and kill a snake, venomous or not. Although curious domestic cats can get bitten by venomous snakes in America and Australia.
Bias for the snake:
“Cat looks a bit worse for wear, let’s hope the snake had the final word” – Sandra Heath commenting on Facebook.
“Hope the photographer put a blast of shotgun pellets into the pussy to rid the country of him!- Vince Strang.”
The master cat for snake killing is probably the diminutive sand cat. They actively feed on them.
The Aussie feral cat is a very competent killer of reptiles, small mammals and marsupials much to the chagrin of Aussies! They want rid of them asap. It is said that the feral cats of Australia are much larger than their American or European counterparts due to the abundance of prey animals. Perhaps, too, the high ambient temperatures are a factor.
People should not be so anti-cat. People put them there in the first place. They have not choice. They just survive as best they can. And Aussies conveniently forget that they harm conservation far more than cats through their habitat destruction and creation of global warming.
My view as stated is that in a feral cat v. snake fight the cat would win most but not all of the time. There is no definitive view on this. Make your own mind up. Of course, it will depend on the cat’s character. Wild cats the size of a feral cat will be far more successful.
