Doe for dinner: There can be only one winner as python takes down steenbok in marathon meal that lasted 24 HOURS. A python swallowing a doe-eyed steenbok whole is not a sight which would thrill the average person enjoying a safari in the grasslands of Botswana, but for Matto Barfuss it was 'a dream'. The Dutch filmmaker jumped at the chance to capture the final moments of the doomed creature, before it was swallowed whole by the deadly reptile in a marathon meal which took more than 24 hours to finally finish. It seems the snake had managed to grab onto the bok's hind legs as it passed while walking in the high grass by the southern African country's Kwando river. Barfuss realised something exciting was going on when he noticed a commotion in the distance. The 44-year-old explained: 'At the time I was filming a documentary on African Wild Dogs and only knew that something great was going on at a distance. 'I immediately stopped filming and rushed to the spot. 'By that point, the body of the steenbok was already surrounded by the snake and she had started to constrict her prey. 'It was quite thrilling, how long the steenbok could still breathe before it passed away and its tongue lolled out.' But this was far from a quick meal. At first, it seemed the snake's eyes had been bigger than its belly. But the pythons determination won out - although it took more than 24 hours for it to consume the steenbok, which had also caught the eye of a couple of nearby hyenas. Source and read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3219677/Doe-dinner-one-winner-python-takes-steenbok-marathon-meal-lasted-24-HOURS.html

• published: 03 Sep 2015
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