If you weren’t already fond of the idea of spelunking about in some cold, dark caves, you almost certainly won’t be after watching this clip straight from the caverns of Thailand's Tham Pha Tha Phon protected area.
You can take comfort, however, in knowing that should you ever find yourself here, you’ll have plenty of company. The caves are home to a truly extraordinary assortment of creepy crawlies, – as well as bats and the snakes that eat them. Yes, you read that right, snakes that eat bats.
Filmed by cameraman Darryl Sweetland, the clip shows a Ridley’s racer snake, also known as a beauty rat snake (Orthriophis taeniurus ridleyi), trying its hardest to grab a flying bite. A member of the rat snake group, racers are non-venomous and belong to the family Colubridae, which is the largest family of snakes in the world, with over 1,938 different species.
The racers hang from cracks and crevices in the caves, waiting until hundreds – if not thousands – of their bat roommates come flying by at dusk. When one gets close enough, the snakes will actually snatch it right out of the air! But not this guy – he's having a really bad day.
Luckily for those less talented aerial hunters out there, these snakes aren’t incredibly picky eaters and can get by on the occasional rodent that's unfortunate enough to wander through the front door.