A MORTAL COMBAT

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 269, 21 December 1909, Page 4

A MORTAL COMBAT

I had the good fortune (says a writer in the Ceylon Times) to witness a fight ■between a four-foot cobra di capella and a mongoose. On first catching sight of the cobra, rikki tik (as Rudyard Kipling calls the Indian mongoose) quietly smelt Its tail and then hung around awaiting fcvents with curiosity; but he had not long to wait, for the cobra spread its hood, hissed out its death sentence, and prepared to dart from its coil at its 'natural and hated enemy. Now com-, meneed a most interesting and deadly battle—of feint and counter feint by the. mongoose and strike and lightning- ] like recovery by his adversary, who was i also on the defensive, all the time ■watching for the opportunity to get. in | his properly-aimed bite. Time after time rikki tik squirmed slowly up to "within reach of those terrible fangsbelly on ground —with every grey hair of his body erect with anger and excitement, his eyes glaring from his head, \vhich, by the way, he invariably held tideways during this approach and attack; but the moment the cobra struck, in a flash back sprang master mongoose, iind although often it appeared as if impossible that he could have escaped the dreaded fangs, iie'er a soratdh harmed him, and there he would be again wearing the cobra out and pressing his advantage inch by inch. At last, with a grow] and sharp rikky crj, the plucky little beast Hew in, avoided the strike, and seized the snake behind the head, never for a moment getting under its mouth, but right at the nape of the heck and head, which he crunched with a, loud cracking sound despite tthe struggles and twisting and turning of the cobra. Again and again riklki Returned to the now writhing reptile and bit its head and body until it lay Hying. JFinally he ate three or four inches of his mortal foe, but carefully avoided eating the fangs and poison glands, which I picked up by a stick and found them broken but with the venom sacs attached. Contrary to popular belief, I am of opinion the mongoose Sg not immune from snake poison, else •why should he bo particularly and carefully avoid being bitten? It is only by his marvellous) activity that lie escapes the spring and darting strike of his (deadly enemy, the cobra di capella.