Dramatic Battle Between Bobcat and Rattlesnake Caught On Trail Camera

Wildlife photographer Robert Martinez has been filming wildlife in the mountains of Los Angeles using motion-activated trail cameras for a while now. In the past eight years he’s seen many wildlife moments hidden to the average person.

Recently he captured a “real nail-biter” in the Angeles National Forest – a fight between a bobcat and rattlesnake and he shared the video of the dramatic encounter.

The bobcat (and viewers) hears the rattle first. In the following minutes, the rattlesnake hisses and lunges at the bobcat. The dexterous cat ably slaps the reptile’s head, like a boxer punching an opponent.

The two animals go back and forth for several minutes before the bobcat manages to claw the snake’s head and delivers a deadly bite. It’s not an expected outcome. The bobcat carries the snake off into the bushes and returns to to scene of the victory to roll in the dirt.

“Look at the agility of this bobcat, faster than that snake,” one viewer 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. Over the years he’s captured everything from mountain lions to bears on his cameras.

He hopes videos like his will help people grow to appreciate the wildlife that lives around them.

If you enjoyed this video, you’ll love the array of animals Robert Bush Sr captures on hidden cameras in the mountains of Pennsylvania.

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