Squirrel and rattlesnake caught in brutal life-or-death battle - until clutch move saves the day
The San Diego National Wildlife Refuges shared the tense video depicting a ground squirrel tossing wood chips and asserting its dominance against a southern Pacific rattlesnake.
As the rattlesnake hissed and prepared to pounce, the squirrel pushed woodchips in its face and stood strong in the face of danger.
The squirrel wasn't rattled, as it flicked its tail at the snake, jumped around to confuse its foe, and kicked up woodchips to throw in its face.
The SDNWR snapped the footage and shared it online to their followers, revealing that the bitter duel lasted a whole eight minutes.
If you're wondering why a squirrel would taunt a rattlesnake - the experts explained that the snake had likely just eaten one of the squirrel's own.
'Ground squirrels don't just protect themselves, they defend their burrows, warn nearby squirrels, and sometimes even protect their young or close relatives,' the SDNWR shared.
Squirrels are more clever than people realize and have even developed numerous tactics to ward off snakes and other predators.
Squirrels have figured out how to confuse a snake's heat sensors by heating their tails.
The squirrel pictured in the video was seen in an aggressive stance with its tail high in the air.
The rattlesnake struck in response to the squirrel's taunts, but missed the critter, likely due to its full stomach from eating another squirrel.
The critter pictured in the video was luckier than its friend as it escaped the rattlesnake, whose body was too full to properly attack.
'Just another wild moment on the refuge,' the SDNWR shared.
The video went viral and generated thousands of comments, with animal enthusiasts taking the opportunity to share clever jokes about the fight.
'You know that squirrels has huge nuts. And I'm not talking about his stockpile,' one commenter joked.
'POV my boyfriend testing my limits till I snap at him,' another added.
'Lol the squirrel doing what they do best teasing and antagonizing,' a third noted.
'I was seriously yelling at that squirrel through the dang screen,' a fourth joked.
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