The scene of deer eating snakes scared many people and the surprising reason behind

Video recording a deer chewing a small snake in its mouth shared by Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Susanta Nanda has surprised many viewers.

In the video, the deer is seen standing by the roadside and chewing the carcass of a small snake, an unusual behavior for a herbivore.

As explained by an account named Science Girl, give an explanation for this unusual behavior of the deer. According to Science Girl, deer are herbivores and are classified as ruminants. But in case of food scarcity or lack of minerals, they can eat meat.

According to National Geographic, because deer's main diet is plants, they are classified as herbivores. And just like buffaloes, cows, goats. deer are also ruminants, often they burp partially decomposed food in the stomach back to the mouth to chew again.

However, when winter comes or when food is scarce, they will be deficient in some minerals such as phosphorus, calcium and salt in the body and may turn to meat. In fact, several species of deer have been found to eat live birds, fish and dead rabbits.

After the video was shared on social networks, it quickly gained the attention of many people. They said it was the first time they had witnessed such a shocking incident in their lives. In their minds, deer are very gentle and shy herbivores.

Isabella Humphrey

Update 24 July 2023