The video starts with an explanation of what you’re about to see. This is the Iranian spider-tailed viper. It’s known as such because of its “caudal structure” (a portion of the anatomy away from an animal’s head, in this case, its tail) —it is uncannily spider-like. The next scene is completely deceiving. It looks like snow-dusted or ash-dusted rocks with a tiny spider in the center. It seems to be walking around in circles as if looking for a place to set up its web. The next cut is an explanation that the way this viper moves the tip of its tail makes it appear like a moving spider. Nature is wild! This seeming moving spider at the tip of this viper’s tail is what lures potential prey. The video cuts again to the seeming spider walking about on rocks. Suddenly, a bird flies by from the left of the screen over to the right. It’s much too fast at first so you’ll have to catch the slow-motion replay. The bird, having missed its “prey” at first, returns from the right to bite at the viper’s tail. Can’t blame that poor bird—even with a camera angled perfectly to capture this viper, it is much too easy to mistake the twitchy tail for a roaming spider. Just as the bird makes its own predatory approach, the viper snatches it up. Again—much too fast for human eyes to really grasp what’s happened. It’s a blur of feathered wings. But that bird has met its final fate. It is locked into the viper’s mouth. Even as the viper keeps hold of the flailing bird, the tip of its tail continues roving, as if there is a third entity on scene. But there never was. The bird continues its futile attempt to get away for a few seconds and then the video moves to the slow-motion replay. At a slower speed, you can see how the bird had zero clue that it was anywhere near a viper. It flew by the first time, the viper tried reaching for it—and still, the bird decided it was a good idea to return to the scene, fixated on what it perceived to be a spider. It is a creepy sight—and in the comments of this video, many people share the same sentiment: that they had no idea a viper like this existed.
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