Jaws!

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

A green vine snake (Ahaetulla nasuta) swallowing a leaping frog (Indirana sp.).

It was a thrilling experience to witness the whole sequence of this hunt, from the snake finding the frog, taking aim and striking, to waiting for the venom to take action, starting the swallowing process and finally pushing the meal down its belly.

This image shows how the snake dislocates its jaws and "walks" them down the frog to swallow it.

Photographed at Charmadi, Karnataka on a rainy day in July 2014.

Canon 500D, Canon 100mm macro USM
SS 1/100
Av 7.1
ISO 400
EC -1
Full frame

Thanks, c&c welcome.

[Mrudul Godbole]

Great details. How long did the entire process took? Nicely captured. Thanks for sharing.

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

Nice details. Lovely golden-yellow eyes with horizontal pupil. Thanks for sharing. SaktiWild

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Mrudul: Striking to swallowing took about 5-10 minutes.

[Debasis Bose]

Beautiful colours, superb action sighting. The eyes says a lot, how much the snake is relishing his catch.

[Roopak Gangadharan]

Super. No nits here. Like the expression 'walks down the frog'... Can't put it better. It is very interesting to see one part of the jaw move ahead of the other and the other part following with the fangs working like an ice axe in the hands of a climber.
TFS
Roopak

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Interesting. Did you see it striking the frog? The composition is fine. It is good that the frog's legs didn't get cut. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers,
Sabyasachi