How do bobcats kill rattlesnakes? Secret technique revealed in California trail video

Bobcats eat rattlesnakes, yet they aren’t immune to rattlesnake venom. So how does it work?

Apparently, the wild felines have perfected a technique of slapping the snakes silly, judging from a trail camera video recorded Oct. 6 in Angeles National Forest near San Fernando, California.

“Hang onto your seat for this one, it’s a real nail-biter,” photographer Robert Martinez wrote Oct. 9, when shared the video on Facebook.

His edited version, which is about 2 and a half minutes, starts with a bobcat veering off a hiking trail in search of something just out of view. An explosion of rattles can be heard as the cat hops backwards back into view.

In the minutes that follow, a rattlesnake (about 4 feet in length) is seen lunging repeatedly at the bobcat, which steps forward each time to slap the reptile’s open mouth to the ground.

The turning point comes when the bobcat manages to sink claws into the snake’s head, pulling it close enough to bite just behind the eyes. Within seconds, the rattling stops and the snake falls limp.

The bobcat is seen dragging the snake off into the bushes. However, the cat then returns to the spot to roll victoriously in the dirt — twice.

It’s not clear if the bobcat was bitten at any point.

Martinez’s video has been shared more than 43,000 times and prompted more than 3,000 comments, including some who likened the feline to mixed martial arts expert Conor McGregor. (A few also argued it might be a lynx, rather than a bobcat.)

“Look at the agility of this bobcat, faster than that snake,” one man wrote on Martinez’s Facebook page.

“That bobcat knew what it was doing, as if it had done this before. Confident, hungry,” another wrote. “Wild critters rarely risk death for a meal. Bobcat looked more confident than starving.”

Martinez told TV station CBSLA the video was filmed on one of about 20 motion-activated trail cameras he has set up in the Angeles National Forest.

This story was originally published October 13, 2020 at 10:10 AM with the headline "How do bobcats kill rattlesnakes? Secret technique revealed in California trail video."