While enjoying a meal at one of the park’s riverside restaurants, an observant guest realised she wasn’t the only one with an appetite. Nearby, a stork was getting ready to enjoy a meal of its own.
Janine Westerweel submitted this unusual footage to Latest Sightings. She filmed it while visiting South Africa’s Kruger National Park.
Eager to eat
As we join Janine at the sighting, we see a large bird wading in the shallows of a Kruger river. It is a saddle-billed stork, the most colourful of Africa’s storks.
In the background, we can hear the sound of people enjoying a meal at one of Kruger’s riverside restaurants. As it turns out, they weren’t the only ones eager to eat.
Writhing reptile
Saddle-billed storks are typically found patrolling the shallows of the park’s rivers and waterholes. There, they hunt mainly for fish, although they will opportunistically also feed on insects, amphibians, crabs, birds, small mammals, and reptiles.
And it is the latter creature that comes to the stork’s attention. Writhing at its feet, a snake comes into view.
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Strike and stab
Before the snake, which is thought to be a black mamba, swims away, the stork strikes. Saddle-billed storks use their heavy bills to capture their prey.
They do so by repeatedly stabbing at it. In the process, they either kill it outright or maim it to prevent escape.
After striking several times, the stork picks up the snake to check whether it is still alive.
As it does so, the snake automatically curls up in a defensive ball. Accordingly, the stork knows there is still work to be done.
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A solid base
However, instead of continuing its efforts in the water, the stork drops its prey on a small island. There it can do more damage against a solid base.
With its prey now perfectly positioned, it resumes the onslaught. The unfortunate snake stands no chance of escape as it is stabbed repeatedly.
After delivering a dozen or so sharp blows, the bird retrieves the snake.
However, the snake remains coiled, suggesting that it is not dead yet.
Next, the stork drops its prey in the water and tries to finish the job there. However, as the snake moves around in the current, the stork retrieves it.
Finishing up
Once again, it drops the snake on the island where it resumes stabbing.
A short while later, it lifts the snake up once more. And this time, it looks like the snake may finally be dead.
Triumphant at last, the stork walks off with its prize. Unfortunately, we don’t see whether it managed to swallow the snake whole, though it seems likely, given the large fish it regularly eats in one mouthful.
