In what appeared to be a battle for the ages – snake vs centipede – there was no clear-cut winner in this fight. After a small snake consumed a live centipede, the arthropod partially ate its way out of the snake’s abdomen. Neither creature survived.

Centipede vs Snake

The grisly scene was discovered by a group of researchers on a small Macedonian island in 2013. After performing a post-mortem on the snake, scientists believe the centipede was eaten alive and in turn began eating its way out of the snake before perishing half-way though its escape.

In a report entitled, Two fangs good, a hundred legs better: juvenile viper devoured by an
adult centipede it had ingested, we read:

“…in this case we assume the young snake gravely underestimated the size and  strength of the centipede, which itself is known as a ferocious predator. In general, this invertebrate is extremely tough: it is very hard to kill a full-grown Scolopendra (personal observation). Therefore, 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.”

After their examination, scientists also concluded that the prey actually weighed more than the snake.

Bottom Line

The photo above shows a scene in which a snake ingested a live centipede, which partially ate its way out of the reptile. Neither creature survived.