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  • Black mambas have very few enemies in the wild.

  • But she's about to meet her nemesis: the slender mongoose, a notorious snake killer.

  • They may look like featherweights in the ring, but these are two of the most lethal predators on the planet.

  • The mongoose has razor-sharp teeth and lightning speed.

  • But one bite from a mamba can kill 15 grown men.

  • So imagine what it can do to a five-pound mongoose.

  • The mamba is lethal, but she's not tough.

  • She relies on her venom to sedate her victims and immobilize their weapons.

  • Here's the kicker.

  • The mongoose has an antidote to her potion.

  • The toxins in snake venom attach to chemical receptors in their victims and block communications between nerves and muscle.

  • Mongoose receptors have mutated, so that venom simply bounces off the muscle cells.

  • He's literally immune to danger.

  • The mongoose MO is to dance circles around his prey until it's exhausted.

  • And then, the kill shot.

  • One swift snap to the back of the head and the spine is severed.

  • The snake is still alive, but paralyzed.

  • Her muscles twitch.

  • But her bite is gone.

  • For the mongoose, the reward outweighs the risk.

  • A seven-foot snake is a hearty meal for a pint-size predator.

Black mambas have very few enemies in the wild.

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