Dice Snakes Employ Dramatic Death Feigning Tactics to Deter Predators

Recent studies reveal that Dice snakes on Golem Grad island use blood, feces, and musk in elaborate antipredator displays to reduce time exposed to threats.

Dice snakes enhance their survival by smearing themselves with feces and bleeding from the mouth, which makes them less appealing to predators.
Researchers observed that these snakes spend approximately two seconds less feigning death when employing these dramatic tactics.
Juvenile snakes exhibit these behaviors less frequently, suggesting a developmental aspect to the antipredator strategy.
The study, conducted by the University of Belgrade, involved simulating predator attacks to measure the snakes' responses.
Future research aims to replicate these findings in other species and ecosystems to better understand the effectiveness of such behaviors.