Who has the right of way in a showdown of Sonoran Desert creatures, a Gila monster or a rattlesnake? Instagram user kim_in_the_sonoran_desert recently shared a trail-cam video of these two venomous desert creatures coming face to face, and you might be surprised about what happened.
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In the video, a rattlesnake is curled up in the sun outside a drainage pipe. It hears something coming and positions itself accordingly. Suddenly, a Gila monster comes walking out of the pipe’s opening and barrels over the snake, which doesn’t even attempt a strike.
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Clearly, the lizard had the right of way. The rattlesnake must know it’d be a waste of precious venom and energy to strike at a Gila monster. And the Gila monster isn’t looking for a fight, either.
“That was the most Arizona thing [I’ve] ever seen,” joked one person in the video’s comments section.
Watch a Gila monster and a rattlesnake below (or see it here).
Header stock image by OpsimathPhotography/Getty Images
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