Record of Cannibalism in Northern Western Ghats Vine Snake (Ahaetulla borealis)

Abstract Although cannibalism has been recorded in a number of snake species, it is still a behaviour that is poorly reported among the arboreal snakes of the Western Ghats. While carrying out a field observation at the Garbet Plateau in Matheran, a rare case of cannibalism involving the Northern western ghats vine snake (Ahaetulla borealis) was observed. This occurred on 7th October 2022 at 11:21 AM, when an adult vine snake was seen eating one of its own kind. The behavioural observation was carried out for seven minutes without interruption. When we returned a few hours later, the snake was found resting on the same branch and had a clearly full stomach. This account sheds light on the feeding ecology of A. borealis and adds to the scarce natural history information that is currently available for the species.