What animals catch and kill snakes?

There are many different animal species that successfully kill snakes, and some animals include snakes as a regular part of their diet. Raptors are known as snake killers as well as hawks, eagles, honey badgers and then there is also the famous mongoose. There is a type of snake that kills other snakes and actually doesn't eat other foods if there are any snakes available nearby.

There has also been more than one case of home pets–cats and dogs–killing snakes, although this is not a quality to expect from a pet because it can easily happen that your pet will get bitten and might die, and you surely don't want this to happen.

When it comes to the mongoose, they are very effective in killing snakes and the most important part of their success is the fact that they are immune to snake venom. A mongoose is a very swift and energetic animal with thick hair all over its body, which makes for perfect armor for fighting snakes. However, before you think of getting a mongoose to fight with snakes in your surroundings, make sure that it is allowed to import it, because certain countries have strict import regulations. It is well known that non-native animals can seriously disturb the natural balance when introduced to a new environment, and a mongoose can very likely do so in an area where it is not a native animal.

Dogs that are successful in catching and killing snakes are primarily hunting dogs such as terriers. Terriers are fast and very effective in hunting down all smaller wild animals; however, they are vulnerable to snake venom just as humans are, and it will be quite costly to take it to the vet because it got bitten in a battle with a snake.

Pigs are also known to kill snakes by stomping them to death. Pigs are not snake hunters; they simply don't like foreign animals in their territory and they especially don't like it when they have babies. Snakes love the chance to feed on mammal babies and pigs are aware of this fact, so they will respond aggressively to a snake in their den, primarily to protect their youngsters.

Go back to the How to Get Rid of Snakes page or email us if you have any other questions about What animals catch and kill snakes?