Cannibal Rattlesnake?

[2B4Him]

I arrived at the lease around 8:30 last Friday (near Baird, Callahan County). After taking a few loads of stuff into the bunkhouse, I noticed a rattlesnake laying near my truck. It was stretched out straight and had been shot in about the middle of its body, its head was cut off. It looked like it had been dead for a day or two. I assumed our landowner had killed it (verified later). I moved it out of the way, over near the barn.
Since I needed to wait for the bunkhouse air conditioner to cool down the inside, I decided to sit on the tailgate of the truck, enjoy an adult beverage and cigar, and listen to a high school football game.
When the game wrapped up, I went over to look at the snake and it looked much longer now. On closer inspection, I could see TWO tails/rattles. Another rattlesnake was now chomping down on the midsection of the dead snake! His mouth was completely chomped on the snake. I got a stick and poked it, making it tense up a bit, like a dog with a chew toy he didn’t want to release.
So I got my .40 and dispatched the snake using the rat shot shells I had. (As an aside, I was very pleased that the rat shot cycled through my Glock 27 perfectly.) The original ‘dead’ snake was 48” long, the ‘cannibal’ snake was 46”.
This took place about 10 feet from where I was sitting on my tail gate!
Why would a live rattlesnake want to bite or eat a long dead rattlesnake?
The original snake is on the left in the picture, the cannibal is on the right.

[SHSU18]

Man those are some long rattles!

[sandbill]

Not sure about the cannibalism, but y’all have too much rattler action around camp!

[Kmart49]

Man those are some long rattles!

That's what I was thinking!

[BarBBar]

Snakerophelia?

[2B4Him]

Man those are some long rattles!

One was 13 buttons and the other 11.

[okrattler]

I'll be dang. I wish you'd have waited to see if it'd try to eat it. I don't know if there's ever been an actual sighting of a rattlesnake trying to eat another rattlesnake. Or any snake for that matter. I've personally never seen or heard of it. That might be worth mentioning to a wildlife biologist or something. That's very unusual.

[Axis FMJ]

That might be the best rattle bug ever.

[Drycreek3189]

Hell, it was hungry !

[SJP51]

You got too many snakes around your camp!!!

[deerwatcher51]

You probably have a den near your camp as they are moving to their dens about now.

[2B4Him]

I'll be dang. I wish you'd have waited to see if it'd try to eat it. I don't know if there's ever been an actual sighting of a rattlesnake trying to eat another rattlesnake. Or any snake for that matter. I've personally never seen or heard of it. That might be worth mentioning to a wildlife biologist or something. That's very unusual.

I wish I had taken a picture of it with its mouth around the dead snake - but getting my pistol was more of a priority at the time.
We have developed an opinion that 'maybe' the live snake could smell/sense a mouse or something in the stomach of the dead snake and was going after that. But, I can't imagine how a snake would gnaw through another one to get to its stomach contents.

[bobbaganoosh]

Cannibalism Among Rattlesnakes Helps Females To Recover After Birth | ScienceDaily

[Walker]

If live snake was going to eat dead snake it would had gone head first. Maybe it was injecting venom to aid in digestion.

[okrattler]

I wish I had taken a picture of it with its mouth around the dead snake - but getting my pistol was more of a priority at the time.
We have developed an opinion that 'maybe' the live snake could smell/sense a mouse or something in the stomach of the dead snake and was going after that. But, I can't imagine how a snake would gnaw through another one to get to its stomach contents.

I think it's likely it really was going to eat the other one. I've seen a rattlesnake carrying a dead kangaroo rat off of the road that had been there for a few days. It was flat as a pancake and probably tough as a boot but it was planning on eatin that thing. I suppose if food is scarce they'll do what they have to do. I just ain't ever seen it happen. Which don't mean anything though. There's a lot I ain't seen so I'd say it's definitely possible. If it was biting that other one I'd have to say it intended on eating that dead one. They'll eat dead stuff no doubt. I just never knew they'd eat other snakes.

Unusual no doubt. But as with all living things all them snakes know is survival. They ain't got any rules or morals when it comes to staying alive. It'd probably prefer something else but I suppose if all it found to eat this month was a stinky snake that's probably what it'd decide to eat.