An extraordinary photograph taken in Southeast Asia has immortalized an unforgettable event. An intense clash between two enormous reptiles reached a grim conclusion, resulting in a haunting and twisted spectacle. In this encounter, a king cobra, one of the combatants, succumbed to strangulation, while the other, a reticulated python, met its demise as well. Bitten at the rear of its head by the cobra and afflicted with the lethal venom from the hooded serpent, the python resorted to defending itself by crushing its adversary to its own demise. Regrettably, neither of them survived the encounter.

“It is insane, yet it is something I could see happening… “It’s a hazardous world out there, eating other huge snakes and things that may kill you,” says Coleɱaп Sheehy of the Florida Museum of Natural History, who believes the deadly confrontation happened somewhere in Southeast Asia, where the two snake species overlap.

Both snakes are exceptional among their slithering brethren, and as these events often occur, a photo of the carcasses was uploaded on Facebook. It rapidly drew the attention of herpetologists and others who were fascinated by the strange sight (we’re all aware of the ouroboros, a symbol representing a serpent devouring its own tail, but who has ever seen a dead python balled up around a dead cobra?). “It seems authentic, not ɱaпipulated,” says Frank Burbrink of the American Museum of Natural History. “This is a strange experience, but much of what happens with snakes is never easily seen.” This is true even when two huge snake species are involved.

King cobras are the world’s longest venomous snakes, reaching lengths of up to 18 feet. And, as the name of their genus Ophiophagus implies, king cobras devour other snakes. When these cobras strike, they aim for the base of their prey’s skulls and kill by injecting a poisonous mixture that swiftly paralyzes neurological systems and paralyzes their prey. “They can attack pretty much any snake they come across,” Sheehy adds. Reticulated pythons, on the other hand, are the world’s longest snakes, with some reaching lengths of more than 30 feet. They use their muscles to strangle their prey, which is usually mammals rather than other snakes. “If there was a predatory occurrence here,” Burbink adds, “it was king cobra to python.” “And neither of them were successful.” (The world’s longest snake gave birth to a virgin.)

It is unclear how frequently these sorts of apex snake fights occur in the wild. And Burbink isn’t certain that this fight to the death was the consequence of a chance encounter. “We know cobras eat other snakes, but you never know whether people are doing silly things to set things up,” adds Burbink. “People keep king cobras, and let’s see what happens if you throw these guys in a ditch.” There’s a berm on both sides [in the photo], and they might have gone at it, but it could also have happened in the wild. I wish I could have been there to see it.” However, regardless of the trigger, the sequence of events appears to be evident in this situation.

Given the immense size of the adult python, the king cobra attempted to bite off more than it could chew, and the python, in response, did what pythons do: it wrapped itself around and strangled its assailant. Unfortunately, the python’s strength was no match for the cobra’s poison. “It would swiftly kill the python,” Sheehy explains. “They might both be dead within 30 minutes.”