https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-754109
Large Israeli snake dies after trying to eat a porcupine
“The one-way direction of the porcupine's quills did not allow the snake to spit out the porcupine," said reptile ecologist Aviad Bar.
A nature drama unfolded in Shoham this week when several dog owners noticed a large black snake lying near the town’s local dog park. The snake was found motionless with an equally motionless porcupine stuck in its mouth.
Aviad Bar, a reptile ecologist with the Nature and Parks Authority, visited the scene and identified that it was a non-venomous snake of the black whip snake species that was trying to eat a common porcupine.
“From an analysis of the situation, it can be assumed that the snake tried to devour the porcupine and as soon as it decided to abandon its unusual meal, it realized the magnitude of its mistake,” Bar stated.
“The one-way direction of the porcupine's quills did not allow the snake to spit out the porcupine and in the end both the porcupine and the snake met their deaths in the tragic encounter."
Israel is home to three species of porcupines. A porcupine’s diet includes insects, small mammals, birds, and reptiles - including snakes.