Death-defying gecko escapes clutches of venomous snake

Sept. 28 (UPI) -- A Bangkok pedestrian who stopped to film what appeared to be a gecko's final moments while being attacked by a snake captured the moment the cunning lizard escaped.

The video, filmed Sept. 18 in Bangkok, shows the venomous golden tree snake coiled around the tokay gecko, which initially appears still and near death.

The snake bites the gecko to deliver a dose of poison to subdue the lizard before attempting to swallow it whole, but the gecko's playing dead leads the snake to momentary loosen its grip enough for the would-be prey to sprint away across the road.

The snake attempts to pursue the gecko for a moment before giving up the chase.

"The lizard was a bit smarter than the snake. It broke free when his opponent wasn't looking. It wasn't his time to be eaten yet," witness Tong Fuller, 35, said of the scene.