The closest relative of boas and anacondas, the rubber snake (lat. Charina bottae) is one of the “shortest” representatives of its family. Its dense, brownish-olive body grows only 60 cm, while the length of its cousin, the common anaconda, can reach ten meters.
Rubber snakes live in coniferous forests, grasslands and scrublands in the western United States and Canada. Hiding under bark, fallen leaves or logs, they patiently track down prey - small rodents, birds, salamanders, and look for eggs of other snakes.
One of their favorite activities is to destroy the holes of rodents. If a rubber snake has found a hole with a brood, then no one will be able to escape: first, it will eat the offspring, repelling the mother’s attacks with a thick tail, and then the mother herself, pulling her out with the same tail.