Huge Snake Devours Fish Larger Than Its Jaw [See Photos]; How Common Are Pescatarian Serpents?

Some snakes eat fish; yes, they do. A wildlife photographer from Texas witnessed this at play during a visit to the Landa Park fishing pier on April 19.

Snake Eats a Sizable Fish

Ed Means, of New Braunfels, Texas, was exploring the park to search for a green heron. However, he heard a ruckus in the water and witnessed a diamondback water snake eating a huge fish.

Means immediately used his camera to document to event. He shared some shots on Facebook. According to him, it took a while for the reptile, but it got the job done.

In an interview with news station KSAT, Means said he heard a commotion in the water, and the green heron took off. Then he noticed something moving on the green mat of algae and river greenery in the middle of the river.

Since it was too far away for him to see, he decided to use his camera and looked at it through his 500 mm camera lens. It was at that time that he realized that it was a diamondback water snake eating a fish bigger than its jaw.

The wildlife photographer said it was "an amazing sight" because he had never seen it before. Means added that it was a "dramatic" thing to witness when the snake slowly swallowed the fish that was visibly too big to consume. However, the reptile was able to dislocate or unhinge its jaw to make room for the huge prey.

Animalia noted that diamondback water snakes are carnivores, and they feed on a variety of aquatic species, including fish. The snake's bite is reportedly painful since it has sharp teeth meant to hold slippery fish. However, diamondback water snakes usually bask on branches over water and only attack when mishandled or physically harassed.

How Common Are Snakes Eating Fish?

You probably haven't heard of snakes eating fish. Although it's not common, there are many serpents that eat fish.

A-Z Animals noted that there are no true pescatarian snakes, but over five snakes eat fish. Eating fish is not common among reptiles because most serpents are not equipped to digest sharp fish bones properly. Since they aren't skilled to feed on fish, most skip it as their meaningful food source.

Water snakes, referring to serpents that are semi-aquatic, are among those that consume fish. They look for fish where it's shallow.

A study on contaminants in banded water snakes was also conducted, and the results indicated that the snakes had elevated levels of toxins due to the consumption of dangerous substances in fish. Another study found that mothers of northern water snakes who give their young a significant amount of mercury do not negatively affect the number of offspring or the newborn survival rate.

Northern water snakes can appear more frightening than they actually are when mistaken for water moccasins. The fingerlings and fry of trout are common meals for water snakes, which are frequently observed in fish hatcheries.

Aside from water snakes, garter snakes, cottonmouths, dice snakes, and checkered keelbacks also include fish in their diet.

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