Grass Snake (Natrix helvetica) – Strolling along the canal, the light ever changing as slate grey clouds block the sun, threatening rain again, and seeing me with my camera, a friendly fisherman calls out, “There’s a frog being eaten by a snake over there!” I pass under a nearby canal bridge built during the Industrial Revolution and I see a stirring in the canal water on the opposie bank. And low and behold there is a snake gripping a frog around the throat. I would never have thought that my first encounter with a Grass Snake would be so dramatic. They also hunt and eat fish.
Please double-click images for a closer look.
Nature Journeys 
Poor little frog.
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What a magnificent sighting!
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Thank you! It was!
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What a moment! Congratulations!
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Thank you! I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time; unfortunately it was the opposite for the frog.
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That is how the food cycle goes…
Dramatic indeed!
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That is nature …
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Eeeekkkk!
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Wow! It is impressive that a snake that slender can swallow a frog that big. Nice captures of the action, Pete.
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Thank you, Mike. From what I have read frogs and toads are there much preferred diet, and the snake normally swallows them back legs first whilst they are alive.
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It has to be a scary feeling for a frog when a snake grabs hold of him and slowly sucks him in. The cries of the frog are heart-rending. Occasionally, though, the frog is able to struggle free. I was thrilled a few years ago to be able to capture one such successful struggle. https://michaelqpowell.com/2016/04/20/the-one-that-got-away/
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The Grass Snake has numerous back-facing teeth, so once it gets its teeth into something even the slippiest find it hard to get away. Fortunately for your frog, this was the exception.
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I’d think it would be much easier to swallow a frog head-first but, on the other hand, it must be a lot easier to catch one from behind, so I guess that works out for them–usually!
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What a fantastic photo of reality in the natural world!
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Thank you, Marilyn!
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great shot 🙂
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Thank you!
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Wow – lucky tip from the fisherman!
Great photos. Nature – the circle of life – isn’t always pretty, but certainly dramatic.
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Thank you, Rebecca. Nature isn’t always pretty, but as you say … the circle of life.
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I wasnt sure whether to like that or not Pete, but interesting none the less.
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It was not a good day for the frog, but I had never seen a snake before let alone attempted to photograph one until that moment.
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Wow! It is lunchtime in the wild. Amazing shots! Glad you were quick on your feet for these Pete.
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Thank you, Sandra 🙂 When I got there a women and her two kids were watching, and one of them was trying to feed the snake sweetcorn. It didnt let go of the frog, so sweetcorn was not its thing.
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🤣oh! No, I can’t imagine him abandoning a fresh frog for corn, no matter how sweet! But that was a nice try. 😆
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Nice captures Pete! Right place at the right time (and with your camera)=serendipity.
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Many thanks, David. The day started out with me looking for pondweeds and photographing them, believe it or not, so this was quite a real suprise! 🙂
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Amazing capture! Both you and the snake.
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Thank you, Brian. It was quite something to witness.
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Poor frog, but what a photo opportunity.
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I have never seen a snake until now, but yes, poor frog.
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Wow, an amazing thing to see! You just never know what show nature will provide—nice of the fisherman to point it out.
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It sure was amazing, Ellen. The fisherman told me he had seen a lot of these snakes around the canal. Frogs and toads are their preferred food along with fish apparently.
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Now that is an ambitious snake! Bad day for the frog, I reckon. 😉
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I just wondered whether it managed to swalllow the frog or not, for it looked night impossible. The snake is not venomous, but it had a good grip on the frog.
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Nicely captured! This grass snake is not found in Sweden – we just have Natrix natrix.
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Thank you, Anki! That is interesting about your snake, and I had to look into it more. I beleive they are they same species. It used to be called Natrix natrix here, and stilll is in some books and websites, but it all changed in 2017 with genetic study of the species.
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Wow Pete – that must have been something to see! I remember coming across an adder some years ago in Malvern but never anything as dramatic as this!
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It sure was, Steve. It wasn’t just fleeting, either.
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I don’t often see such scenes, but I always feel especially lucky when I do. This is a wonderful glimpse into the realities of the food chain — how wonderful that you were able to witness it and share it with us!
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It was an exciting moment especially as I had never seen a snake before. We have but 3 species in Britain, so 1 down, 2 to go 🙂
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Wow, what a sighting!
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It was! 🙂
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These are exceptional captures, Pete! What a drama..
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It sure was, Greta! Thank you very much! 🙂
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Wow. What a treat to capture such a sight. One can’t possibly imagine a snake eating a frog so much larger than its mouth, but I’ve heard some snakes ‘dislocate’ their jaws to do so.
How lucky that the fisherman pointed it out to you and you were able to get a shot.
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Thank you, Vicki. I was leaning over the canal bridge photgraphing pondweed of all things, and the fisherman saw me and must of thought I would be interested, and of course I was! 🙂
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That picture proves you should always take your camera with you.
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