'Stout' Snake Gets Collected for Nature Survey. Then It Vomits Up Two More Snakes — One Living!

Mar. 15, 2025

Wildlife Resources Division - Georgia DNR

Aplump snakerecovered during a nature survey in Georgia had a surprising secret to share.

The Wildlife Resources Division of theGeorgia Department of Natural Resources(GNR) detailed how the “stout” eastern indigo snake shocked researchers in anAug. 29 Facebook post.

“During a survey for federally protected eastern indigo snakes last November, wildlife technician Matt Moore came across an astonishing find,” the agency teased in the post.

“After catching and tagging a stout 4-foot-long indigo in southeast Georgia, Moore discovered that the snake had regurgitated two others: a young rat snake and a juvenile eastern diamond-backed rattlesnake,” the social media post continued.

But that’s not all! After the indigo snake vomited up its supersized reptile meal, the technician surveying the snakes realized the coughed-up rattlesnake was still alive.

A eastern indigo snake collected in a Georgia DNR nature survey.Wildlife Resources Division - Georgia DNR

“While the rat snake was dead, the rattlesnake, initially thought to be lifeless, showed surprising signs of life an hour later. It was later seen basking in the sun instead of taking shelter in a burrow,” GNR’s Wildlife Resources Division shared on Facebook.

According to the agency, the indigo snake and the “revived rattlesnake” slithered off into the wild after the survey was complete.

“To top off this remarkable event, the revived rattlesnake had a noticeable bulge, indicating it had recently eaten a large mouse. This unusual episode not only reveals the indigo’s impressive hunting abilities but also the rattlesnake’s unexpected resilience,” GNR’s Wildlife Resources Division closed its post.

The University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratorynotes that eastern indigo snakes eat “other snakes,including rattlesnakesand cottonmouths,” small mammals, birds, and frogs. The snake species is nonvenomous but does make a rattling sound when threatened.

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It is unclear what caused the indigo snake to regurgitate its two snake meal, but GNR’s Wildlife Resources Division joked that the feast “must have been a little too ‘undercooked.'”

According to GNR, the eastern indigo snake is federally protected. If you encounter one of these shiny bluish-black snakes in the wild, the agency recommends enjoying the reptile from afar and never handling any snake found in the wild.

source: people.com