Despite often getting a bum rap from humanity for their Biblical association with evil and trickery, snakes play a vital role in the circle of life. They are known predators of a voluminous amount of species, and to many others they are a delicious, nutritious source of limbless, slithering protein. 

Snakes are ingested at all stages of their lives. Some species consume snake eggs, others opportunistically slurp up defenseless babies, while more just pounce on adults and go to town. Adult snake specimens may be able to fight back, but the bigger the risk the bigger the reward, so a nice juicy python or viper may often be the apple of an apex predator’s eye. 

In the wild, snakes are going to be eaten alive, or scavenged in various states of decomposition. One species also cooks them in a variety of dishes or uses them for traditional medicines to enhance virility and flashy snakeskin ensembles. That’s us humans, naturally. 

So who else has scaled to the top of Mt. Snake Consumption? Birds of prey, also known as raptors, are extremely well-suited for the task. Creatures like eagles, owls and hawks have incredible eyesight and mobility, along with flesh-rending talons and beaks. Bonus points go to their ability to swallow snakes whole — scales, fangs and all — before regurgitating the indigestible parts. Wildlife ACT notes that vultures, the world’s foremost scavengers, are able to bypass the whole regurgitation thing by simply digesting bones, scales and all the rest with their incredibly powerful stomachs.

Wild boars are credited with being great snake eaters due to their aggression, intelligence, and ability to hunt in packs. Shout outs also go to raccoons, foxes, coyotes, mongooses (mongeese?), big cats and the notorious honey badger, all of which use their mobility and teeth to turn snakes into hiss-tory. The article also notes that snakes are liable to kill and eat each other. 

Nature’s most disrespectful snake destruction award might go to the secretary bird. According to this video from TechInsider, this fearsome strutter straight-up stomps snakes into oblivion with a force five times its body weight before gobbling them up.