A viral video from Arizona shows a ground squirrel going face to face with a snake—and, at first glance, it appears to be a rattlesnake. The squirrel tosses rocks and dirt at the snake as the reptile takes a defensive position, makes a rattling sound, and strikes several times. The brave squirrel seems to keep the snake out of its burrow, but it’s lucky that snake wasn’t a rattlesnake.
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In reality, the animal facing off with the squirrel is a gopher snake, which is a constrictor species (it squeezes its prey instead of envenomating it, like a rattlesnake does). To make the intimidating rattling sound, the gopher snake is hissing and moving its tail around to mimic a deadly rattlesnake. The squirrel isn’t fooled or deterred.
Watch a squirrel face off with a snake to protect its burrow below (or see it here).
Header stock image by Eric Mischke/Getty Images
