Nerve-racking footage shot in a family’s back garden shows a snake regurgitating a toad that emerges alive.
The shocking clip was filmed by Richard Hancock after he found his dog Jiggy playing with the reptile and got his camera to take some pictures.
However he decided to capture some footage when he noticed the grass snake was throwing up its last meal so caught the moment the toad popped out alive.
The 38-year-old from Bideford in North Devon, initially went into garden to investigate what Jiggy was playing with when he discovered the Jack Russell terrier was batting a grass snake and throwing it into the air before the family pulled him away.
Richard’s partner Sarah Leather, 41, a former veterinary nurse, checked the snake was not injured before leaving the reptile in the garden.
But when Richard returned to take photographs 10 minutes later he found the snake thrashing and curling up on the grass before regurgitating its last meal, so he filmed the shocking moment.
After a little bath from Sarah, the toad was back to croaking and hopping in the grass just an hour after his very close brush with death on May 7.
Richard said: “It was an incredible sight – I always have my phone on me to capture rare moments like this.
“A while after the snake had regurgitated the toad and slithered off, my father in law went to pick up the toad and bury it but instead found it sat upright covered in the snake’s digestive juices.
“We poured some water over it and then my other half gave the toad a proper wash in an old tub from inside the house.
“After Sarah washed the toad off, it looked absolutely fine, we were all absolutely stunned that it seemed to show no ill effects at all.
“We considered keeping him contained in a suitable enclosure and keeping an eye on him but decided it wasn’t necessary as he was croaking and jumping around like nothing had happened.
“Needless to say, it was a pretty extraordinary experience!
“I don’t know how long a toad can last after being swallowed by a snake, but it must have been in there a little while which makes his escape a rather miraculous one!”
