Nature, It is what it is (A battle of life or death)
I was siting on a warm summers evening on a tree stump at the edge of the wood
Just resting a while
It had been a very hot day
It would be a hot sticky night
Sitting quietly I heard a rustling
somewhere in the undergrowth
I searched with my eyes
After a moment or two I noticed a hedgehog that had just began its nocturnal wanderings
If it was aware of me it showed no fear and grubbed noisily in the undergrowth looking for some tasty morsals for evening break fast.
The hedgehog froze momentarily then moved forward
It seemed as if it had found something
I shifted my position slowly standing
It was then that I saw it
The hedgehog in its search for food had discovered an adder
I watched fascinated as the hedgehog moved slowly in
And then bit the snakes tail
The adder squirmed for a moment then turned
and struck back
But the hedghog had lowered its spines covering its face like a monks hood
The risk to the hedgehog was great
One mistake
One bite from the adder on exposed face, snout or foot and the consequences could be fatal
The headgehog would suffer a slow death
Or at the very least be very ill
But not this time
The adder spiked itself on the hedgehogs spines
It was as if it was dazed for a moment.
The adder withdrew quickly and began to move away tongue flickering tasting the air
The hedgehog followed shuffling after the snake
Biting it's tail again
The adder turned its sinewy body and struck in retaliation
But the hedgehog had lowered its spines again
The adder spiked itself
causing further injury
Again the adder attempts to move away
But its tormentor has not finished
The hedgehog follows biting again
The process continued
The hedgehog biting then lowering its spines, defending
The adder is slower now it's head and eyes bleeding
It's body covered with bites
The hedgehog bites again this time nearer to the head
The adder tries to turn painfully slowly
Its mouth is partly open
Its tongue to the side
One last twitch
It is still
The adders battle is done
The hedgehog begins to feed
Working from the tail ripping the skin open the hedgehog feasts on the exposed flesh beneath
I watch for a while longer
The headgehog dines for a while
Then moves away
Disappearing into the undergrowth
Looking for some other morsal
It leaves the half eaten adder
A meal for some other creature
This is the way of nature
It is said nature is cruel
I don't think so
It is what it is
This time the adder lost its battle providing a meal for the hedgehog
But the adder had also been hunting earlier in the day
Some unfortunate mouse or frog had been it's dinner
This is the reality of nature
It is what it is