It is interesting to watch a reticulated python catch its prey. It usually hides near a water body and waits for the prey to come. At an opportunistic moment, usually when the prey is busy drinking water, it launches a surprise attack, swiftly ambushing the prey. Therefore, the reticulated python is known as an ambush predator.
An ambush predator is also known as a sit-and-wait predator. Rather than strength, an ambush predator uses strategy to catch prey. The diet of smaller ambush predators is usually made up of small mammals, birds and rodents like rats. The reticulated python however is also known to prey on pigs that weigh more than 60 kilograms.
The reticulated python is one of the heaviest snakes in the world. An average reticulated python grows to a size of five meters and weighs around 160 kilograms. Some are recorded to grow up to nine meters in length. As we already know, it is closely related to the anaconda. It is a non-venomous constrictor usually found in south-eastern Asia, some parts of Bangladesh and Vietnam, and the Indo-Pacific islands.
Picture Credit : Google