The stage had been already set by the Pit Viper in a small well where the Malabar Gliding Frog (Rhacophorus malabaricus) descends and call out to find his mate. The Pit Viper had taken his place on a stick lying inside the well, with which the female Malabar Gliding Frog descended to the calling males.
The battle begins when the Pit viper strikes and gets hold of the Rhacophorus malabaricus. My first impression was that the battle is over but the Rhacophorus malabaricus proved me wrong by putting up a great fight. The battle lasted for almost 45 minutes during which the Rhacophorus malabaricusalmost escaped twice. One of the best moments of this battle that still plays in my mind, is when the Rhacophorus malabaricus was trying to hold on to the neck of the Pit Viper and tried to set itself loose for almost 10 minutes, even when his head was inside the mouth of the Pit Viper. But the Pit Viper was also holding its ground in this long battle and in the end the venom got to the Rhacophorus malabaricus.
This was one of the most interesting battles I have witnessed. Even though the pit viper got its meal in the end, it is the battle put up by the Rhacophorus malabaricus, even after the venom was injected into him, which took me off my feat. A valuable lesson learnt from this battle – Never give up till the last cell in your body dies!
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