Python Trying To Make Kill Comes Under Attack From Mongoose Band

A python that chose the wrong prey to hunt for its dinner has been filmed facing the grisly consequences, being viciously attacked by a family of mongooses.

The footage shows the snake attempting to constrict one mongoose to death while the 15-strong family of the victim swarmed the snake, ripping shreds of skin off the length of its body and fighting with its head.

The video, originally posted by Avalon Kotze or @av.kotze, was reshared by the Instagram page Nature is Metal, amassing over 3 million views and more than 200,000 likes.

"The video isn't the greatest (it was shot from the kitchen window of this man's house) but you can clearly see that the python is trying to constrict one of them while the rest relentlessly attack the snake's body," the caption of the Nature is Metal video said.

The band of mongooses appear in the video to have striped fur on their backs, indicating that these may be banded mongooses, highly social mammals native to sub-Saharan Africa.

Banded mongooses are cat-sized creatures, only growing to around 12 to 18 inches long, with tails growing up to 12 inches long, according to the Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. They usually eat insects, with their diets mostly consisting of millipedes and beetles, but will also eat a large variety of other prey, including birds, eggs, snails, fruit and even snakes.

Banded mongooses are highly social, unlike some of their other mongoose cousin species, living in "bands" of around 20 individuals on average, with one dominant male leading the group. While the animals forage for food alone, they share a number of other social duties, including defense from predators and snake hunting.

"When faced with a threat, such as a snake or a predator, the group will band together and display a coordinated defense to protect their vulnerable members. Their fearlessness and cooperative behavior make mongooses a force to be reckoned with, and any predator that might be looking to snack on one of their family members will most likely have to deal with the rest of them as well," Nature is Metal continued in the post caption.

Banded mongooses may deploy a defense tactic known as "mobbing," where the group packs tightly together and charges at a predator, moving in unison and screaming to appear as one huge opponent.

The band of mongooses will also work together to raise their young, with all members of the group helping carry newborns, and many staying behind to care for the young when the rest of the group leaves to forage for food.

However, it's not always domestic bliss in the mongoose band, as males often fight when females are in heat, and females are occasionally forced out of the group if the group gets too large.

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