Boa Constrictor Wraps Self Around Wild Cat

Story ByMaja Mishevksa, Sub EditorMarija StojkoskaAgencyNewsflash

CEN/@Soledebustos

This is the moment a boa constrictor is seen wrapped around a wild cat in the middle of the road and which has to be rescued by people.

The incident took place in the town of Las Lajitas, in the northwestern Argentina province of Salta when two men, whose names were not revealed, saw the boa constrictor (Boa constrictor occidentalis) in the process of killing the jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi).

In the video, the snake can be seen coiled around the jaguarundi, a small wild cat, in the middle of a dirt road. The cat can be heard struggling to breathe as it works to try to free itself from the snake’s coils.

CEN/@Soledebustos

Sole Rojas, a forest ranger who shared the pictures explained to local newspaper Clarin that the workers were shocked to see the battle and acted immediately to release the cat.

“Between two people they managed to unwrap the boa and release the animal”, she said and added that four people participated in the rescue operation.

She said that “it is always a risk and added that “people in the area know how to manipulate wild animals and this boa is not venomous”.

The feline was reportedly freed from the snake’s coils.

Rojas said that there are three national parks in the area “The National Park of El Rey (The King), the national reservoir of Pizarro and the natural park of Los Palmares”.

The jaguarundi is found from southern Texas and coastal Mexico in the north to as far south as northern Argentina.

Males can grow up to 83 centimetres (32 inches) long and females up to 66 centimetres (26 inches).

It is prohibited to hunt the animals in Argentina and they are often targeted by farmers as they are known to hunt livestock.

The boa constrictor occidentalis is considered a threatened subspecies due to strong hunting and capture pressures for both its skin and for the pet trade.

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