This is a rare and stunning moment a monitor lizard in India was found latched on to a cobra, while the cobra had sunk its fangs into the lizard, in a mutually destructive grapple.
Residents of Ganijang village in Bhadrak district in Odisha state, east India, saw a nasty fight between an Indian monocled cobra and a Bengal monitor on April 9.
The villagers called a local snake catcher, Mirza Mohammed Arif, adn told him that both the reptiles had bitten into each other and were lying still.
Mirza and his assistant S K Niyaz went to the village and were stunned to see the lizard latching on to the snake.
The lizard had not only escaped the cobra's fangs but had also managed to bite into its opponent's back and hold on to it.
"The cobra was helpless but not in danger as the monitor's bite was not very deep," said Mirza.
But separating the two reptiles was not easy as the lizard held on to the snake's back stubbornly and would not let it go. After a few attempts to pry them apart, Mirza immersed the lizard in a bucket of water.
Gasping for breath it loosened its grip a little and Mirza used his snake stick to open the lizard's mouth and free the cobra.
He left the lizard where it was last seen and took the cobra away to release it in a nearby forest.
