. The popular natural history . Zoology. 43S THE RINGED OR GRASS SNAKE. % frogs being the favourite prey. I have known snakes to eat the common newt, and in such cases the victim was invariably swallowed head first, • whereas the frog is eaten in just the opposite direction. Usually the frog, when pursued by the serpent, seems to lose all its energy, and instead of jumping away, as it would do if chased by a human being, crawls slowly like a toad, dragging itself painfully along as if paralysed. The snake, on coming up with its prey, stretches out its neck and quietly grasps one hind foot of t
. The popular natural history . Zoology. 43S THE RINGED OR GRASS SNAKE. % frogs being the favourite prey. I have known snakes to eat the common newt, and in such cases the victim was invariably swallowed head first, • whereas the frog is eaten in just the opposite direction. Usually the frog, when pursued by the serpent, seems to lose all its energy, and instead of jumping away, as it would do if chased by a human being, crawls slowly like a toad, dragging itself painfully along as if paralysed. The snake, on coming up with its prey, stretches out its neck and quietly grasps one hind foot of the frog, which thenceforward delivers itself up to its destroyer an unresisting victun. The whole process of swallowing a frog is very curious, as the creature is greatly wider than the mouth of the snalie, and in many cases, when the frog is very large and the snake rather small, the neck of the serpent is hardly as wide as a single hind-leg of the frog, while the body is so utterly disproportioned that its reception seems wholly impossible. Moreover, the snake generally swallows one leg first, the other leg kicking freely in the air. However, the serpent contrives to catch either the knee or the foot in its mouth during these convulsive struggles, and by slow degrees swal- lows both legs. The limbs seems to act as a kind of wedge, making the body follow easily, and in half an hour or so the frog has disappeared from sight, but its exact position in the body of the snake is accurately defined by the swollen abdomen. Should the frog be small, it is snap- ped up by the side and swallowed without more ado. ^ The Ringed Snake is fond of water, and is a good swimmer, sometimes diving with great ease and remaining below the surface for a considerable length of time, and sometimes swim- ming boldly for a distance that seems very great for a terrestrial creature to undertake. This reptile will even take to the sea, and has been noticed swim- ming between Wales and Anglesea. During w
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1884
