The video shows a man rescuing a cat from the crushing and choking hold of a boa constrictor that captured it in Costa Rica. The man literally wrestles the constrictor away from the cat which escaped with its life.

 

The video, posted to YouTube by Andrez Gonzalez, who reportedly filmed the incident, shows an unidentified man unwrapping the constrictor and rescuing the cat. The cat cries in distress as the constrictor tightens its hold.

 

The man unwraps the constrictor by grasping it head and forcing its mouth open. The snake's mouth was clamped on the cat's leg. The constrictor's body then relaxes, unwinds and releases it prey.

Gonzalez explains that the cat survived the ordeal and appeared unharmed.

 

Boa constrictors are native to Central and South America. They capture and kill their prey by coiling and crushing it to death in a strong coiled grip. The snake then swallows the lifeless body of its prey whole.

 

Constrictors prey on a wide variety of small to medium sized animals including rodents, lizards, mice, birds, bats and amphibians. The snake takes on larger prey as it grows older and bigger. It first strikes at the prey by grabbing it with its teeth. Then it coils its body around it and crushes it to death.

 

Boa constrictors range in length between 3-13 feet and may exceed 45 kg in weight. They exhibit sexual dimorphism with the females being generally larger than the males.

 

According to National Geographic, studies show that boa constrictors monitor their prey's heartbeat while they squeeze the life out of it. They can tell that they have killed the prey when the heart stops beating.