Centipede eats its way free from a viper's stomach after being swallowed alive

_Mirror

The determined centipede made its last-ditch attempt for freedom by fighting its way through the stomach of the snake.

But freedom was a step too far for the brave creature who was dead, along with the snake, by the time the grisly scene was uncovered.

A group of researchers stumbled upon the find on Macedonia's Golem Grad, also known as Snake Island, last year.

A post-mortem by the scientists indicated the nose-horned female viper may have been disemboweled from the inside out.

Reporting the discovery in an article headed 'Two fangs good, a hundred legs better', Serbian herpetologist Ljiljana Tomovic said the snake could have deliberately eaten its meal alive.

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She said: "We cannot dismiss the possibility that the snake had swallowed the centipede alive, and that, paradoxically, the prey has eaten its way through the snake, almost reaching its freedom."

The scientists also said they believe the young snake had underestimated the size and strength of its prey - which weighed more than the viper.