Puffing her tail and whipping it around, this protective squirrel mom kept a hungry cobra away from her babies, not once did she back down.
Upington, South Africa (03 March 2020) – Bordering Botswana and Namibia, the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is home to more of South Africa’s beautiful wildlife. It can be found snuggled between two countries just up past Upington. Recently, a sighting was captured by a safari guide in the park.
Latest Sightings shared the story of one very brave squirrel mom.
A beautiful Cape Cobra came across a squirrel and her pups and got sent packing. When the children are involved, moms usually let out the crazy side of themselves and would risk anything and everything to protect their young. This video shows just how hard a mother squirrel would fight to make sure that no threats come near her babies.
Dave Pusey, a 41-year-old guide filmed the sighting while out with a group. He shared his experience below.
“We were in the park on the Mata Mata road when we filmed this sighting. We love the Kalahari because you can always expect the unexpected to happen on a daily basis. However, this day was extra special. We had already seen a puff adder in the road, before this sighting, and had seen so many signs of snake activity in the soft sand after some rain – so we weren’t surprised to spot a Cape Cobra on the side of the road – however, he seemed to be very tense and ready to strike, and then we noticed the ground squirrel merely inches away from the cobra.”
“We couldn’t believe our eyes when this scene unfolded before us, and after initially fearing for the ground squirrel, we were amazed at the bravery and speed of the squirrel and how it was irritating the deadly snake. The squirrel kept creeping up to the snake and just as it gets close enough, the snake would launch forward and snap a bite at the squirrel. The squirrel, however, reacted much too quickly and jumped out of the reach of the bite every time!”
“I’ve been travelling to the Kgalagadi for many years, and never thought I would ever see something like this, this was truly a once in a lifetime sighting. “
“We waited for the fascinating story to end, and, after about half an hour, the snake took refuge in some bushes and eventually found a hole to slither into. The female squirrel then started relaxing and carried on with her business. It’s most likely that the squirrel had youngsters close by and just wanted the cobra to move away from the area.”
It is fascinating to watch how she used her tail and speed to charge the Cape Cobra and eventually run it off in a different direction. There were a few moments where we were sure she got struck by the Cobra but she was too quick for the snake.
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Watch the sighting below.
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