A flight’s take-off was delayed when pilots spotted a mongoose and a cobra engaged in a bizarre stand-off on the runway.
Footage filmed from the plane’s window shows how the mongoose circled the cobra intently.
At the same time, the cobra reared its head in a menacing strike pose before pouncing on its rival.
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The noise of the aircraft could be heard in the background, but the stand-off on the runway meant the plane could not take off.
As the mongoose jumped onto the snake, two other mongooses closed in to surround the reptile.
The stand-off was still on the go when the footage ended.
It’s not clear which species won the spat at Jay Prakash Narayan Airport in Patna, Bihar, India.
Mongooses are agile, speedy and resistant to venom.
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They are sometimes dubbed “snake killers,” as reported by What’s The Jam.
Some are known to attack and eat venomous reptiles by using their quick reflexes and sharp teeth to deliver fatal bites to the back of the snake’s head.
But it’s not all one way, some large snakes are known to eat mongooses.
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The age-old mongoose-snake rivalry became widely known through the writings of Rudyard Kipling.
His 1894 short story ‘Rikki-Tikki-Tavi’ is about a valiant mongoose who fights for his master with a deadly king cobra and his wife.
It is now considered an analogy for colonialism, portraying the British as a superior and moral force.
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