This is a rare and stunning moment a monitor lizard in India was found latched on to a cobra, while the cobra had sunk its fangs into the lizard, in a mutually destructive grapple. <br /><br />Residents of Ganijang village in Bhadrak district in Odisha state, east India, saw a nasty fight between an Indian monocled cobra and a Bengal monitor on April 9. <br /><br />The villagers called a local snake catcher, Mirza Mohammed Arif, adn told him that both the reptiles had bitten into each other and were lying still. <br /><br />Mirza and his assistant S K Niyaz went to the village and were stunned to see the lizard latching on to the snake.<br /><br />The lizard had not only escaped the cobra’s fangs but had also managed to bite into its opponent’s back and hold on to it.<br /><br />“The cobra was helpless but not in danger as the monitor’s bite was not very deep,” said Mirza.<br /><br />But separating the two reptiles was not easy as the lizard held on to the snake’s back stubbornly and would not let it go. After a few attempts to pry them apart, Mirza immersed the lizard in a bucket of water. <br /><br />Gasping for breath it loosened its grip a little and Mirza used his snake stick to open the lizard's mouth and free the cobra. <br /><br />He left the lizard where it was last seen and took the cobra away to release it in a nearby forest.
