A cobra and three mongooses treated shocked passengers and airline staff to an epic fight on an airplane runway. The airplane’s takeoff was delayed when the pilot noticed creatures fighting on the tarmac in Patna, Bihar, as captured in a viral video.
The unfair showdown between a cobra and three mongooses reportedly took place at Jay Prakash Narayan Airport, although the intended destination of the plane remains unclear, according to the New York Post.
In the footage captured from the aircraft’s window, a cobra can be seen lunging at a mongoose, which nimbly evades the serpent’s venomous fangs in a display of remarkable agility. However, the furry critter is immune to the cobra’s venom, always making this sort of match overwhelmingly handicapped. To make matters worse for the beleaguered serpent, two other mongooses wait in the wings!
The one one-on-one fight seems somewhat even until the other two mongooses join in. The cobra is clearly on the ropes. Unfortunately, the footage ends there, so viewers have to imagine the gory carnage that followed.
The Cobra vs. Mongoose Throwdown on the Airplane Runway is a Tale as Old as Time
Although the outcome of the encounter remains uncertain, mongooses typically hold the upper hand thanks to their lightning-fast reflexes, resilient hides, and innate resistance to cobra venom.
Experts estimate that the mongoose triumphs in 75% to 80% of their encounters with their serpent foes. Mongoose-cobra confrontations are fairly common in the wild, as both species compete for the same prey and occasionally prey on each other, as reported by the Economic Times of India.
Snakes are known to prey on baby mongooses, while adult mongooses hunt and consume cobras. Ah yes, the circle of life!
The animal kingdom rivalry was immortalized in a now-classic tale read to school children around the world.
Rudyard Kipling’s 1894 short story “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” depicts the classic rivalry between a mongoose and a cobra, showcasing the bravery of the mongoose as he defends his human owner from the threatening snake.
Meanwhile, onlookers couldn’t get enough of the furry vs scales action! On The Post’s YouTube video post of the fight, the comments section was full of speculation.
“Never bring a cobra to a mongoose fight,” one onlooker wrote. “Mongoose had his homies waiting in the wings just in case things started going wrong,” a second viewer added. “The snake is done…. not 1 but 3 mongoose…”, a third onlooker chimed in.
RIP cobra.