[mysterious music]
NARRATOR: The tongue of
western diamondback rattlesnake
cautiously tastes the air.
She flicks airborne particles
against the roof of her mouth
to be analyzed, sorting
out potential food
from potential threat, like
this other icon of the Old West,
and he's hungry himself.
The roadrunner is
a tough old bird.
You have to be when the
slithering lunch you've
got your eye on could kill you.
The queen of rattlers,
the western diamondback,
is a recipe for
deadly indigestion.
She's venomous enough
to kill a human,
but she's missing something
in this looming face-off--
legs.
[caws]
The roadrunner has
got serious legs,
and he knows how to use them.
[dramatic music]
[chirping]
Native Americans
revered the roadrunner
for its speed, strength,
and especially its courage.
The bird circles,
spiraling in on its target.
But the snake's not going
down without a fight.
[rattles]
The plan is to grab the
snake behind her head
and bash the poor
girl's skull in.
In this face-off, guts
versus venom is a draw,
and our snake gets
away with her life.
