If you enjoy my photos and would like to purchase some, I want to thank you! Simply visit my Zazzle online shop and browse the product offerings. If there’s a photo you would like to purchase but don’t see it in my shop, please contact me by using the Contact form at the bottom of my home page and let me know which photos you are interested in purchasing, and in what format / medium.
Warning: one of the photos below is not for the faint of heart. Look at your own risk!
I’m participating in the LetsBeWild.com Wild Weekly Photo Challenge. This week’s Challenge is: Escape and I decided to have a little fun with this theme.
As usual, you can click on any of the photos below for a larger view.
Successful escape
Look at this fallen pine tree. It doesn’t look like much, right? Pretty dead, huh? Now look again at its roots, to the left of the trunk, and you’ll notice a brand new tree growing out of it! It’s standing way above the ground, as if floating in the air, with one big root under its trunk linking back to the dead trunk. Now, if that’s not a successful escape from death, I don’t know what to call it.
Unsuccessful escape
I took this photo with my cell phone camera so the quality is not great, but I think the subjects are fascinating. This happened in a rattlesnake exhibit at the San Diego Zoo. I understand they gas the mice they feed the snakes, so they’re still alive (snakes don’t eat dead animals). The feeding takes place once a week so I guess this was my lucky day. No chance of escape there!
Happy Monday!
milkapejovic.com 
I’m so glad that picture was taken at the zoo. The thought of you hunting around for snakes to photograph unnerves me a bit. 😉
Haha, never! Remember I call the fire department when I see a snake in my backyard, with or without a mouse. There are so many snakes around here, especially rattlesnakes, we have to be super careful.
I’m impressed you could even photograph it at the zoo. I don’t stop in front of the snake displays. The reptile house is not my favorite.
You know there’s a window, right? Just like in the first Indiana Jones movie. 😉
This snake is actually at the entrance of the Elephant Odyssey, where they have a little area on California, which includes condors, and obviously rattlesnakes. I had no idea they actually fed the snakes in front of the public so it was “interesting” to say the least. Of course my boys loved it.
The San Diego Zoo reptile house is very cool too. They’ve have new baby komodo dragons for a couple of months now. Komodo dragons are nasty.
Oh, yes, my boys would love it. And a snake eating a mouse would even grab my too-cool-for-school teenager’s attention. 🙂
By the way, did you see my other photo challenge on my other blog? I thought you’d laugh about the Nutella reference…
Yes, I was just over there. And when I saw the image of Nutella, I couldn’t help thinking about nicely smelling gas (okay, now that just sounds weird…)
Now I really want to test my theory!
Great shot of the snake – before becoming a photographer and then the editor of LetsBeWild.com I worked as a wildlife handler, working with all sorts of creatures, especially reptiles like alligators, 14 foot pythons, etc…
Interestingly enough, snakes will actually eat dead food in captivity, and it’s generally considered safer for the snake to be fed dead food, or like you’ve shown in your picture, unconscious food. It might seem like a rat or mouse isn’t much of a threat to a big snake, but a rodent’s teeth can do quite a lot of damage, opening up wounds that can easily get infected or even blinding a snake with a well-planted bite to the eye. In the wild, this is just part of the cycle of nature, but obviously it’s not good to have snakes in captivity with big wounds on them.
When we feed dead rodents, we actually buy them in bulk and they come frozen…perfect for keeping next to your TV dinners. Defrost them and warm them up in warm water a bit and it’s a snake-sized meal! As you say, it’s not for the faint of heart.
Thanks for joining in the challenge!
Yum, I’m ready for lunch! There are a lot of reptiles at the San Diego Zoo, so I guess they go through a lot of rats and mice on a daily basis. This was the first time I actually saw a snake enjoying a meal so it was interesting to witness.
Keep these challenges coming, they’re fun!
Great take on the challenge. 🙂
Thanks! I couldn’t find a fancy photo for this challenge, so I decided to have fun with it instead.