Snake devours mynah along newly opened public boardwalk at Mandai Wildlife Reserve

Some visitors to the newly opened Mandai Boardwalk looking to encounter nature, or perhaps get a glimpse of the animals inside the Singapore zoo, didn't have to look too far.

They found themselves some action along the boardwalk itself.

One of these visitors, Wu Yaocheng, was walking along Mandai Boardwalk at around 1:30pm on Jan. 18 when he saw a green snake vigorously constricting a mynah.

Sharing his footage in a Facebook post to the Singapore Wildlife Sightings page, Wu said he was unsure how exactly the snake caught the bird.

Wu told Mothership that the bird seemed to still have "a little bit of breath" in it when the snake attempted to swallow it.

The green snake could be seen using its fangs to secure the bird, and twisting itself around the bird's body.

It pulled it from the middle of the boardwalk towards the railings.

Sharing that around 10 people were present along the board walk, Wu said everyone was generally "excited" at the sighting, and it was a "good live science lesson for the kids".

Let nature take its course

The incident also sparked a discussion on what one should do in such a situation.

A netizen had commented that Wu could have interfered and saved the bird by pulling it away from the snake.

However, others commented on the importance of letting nature take its course and minimising human interference.

What to do when you encounter wildlife

The snake in the footage appears to be a Red-tailed Racer. These snakes are not venomous.

Apart from birds, these snakes tend to enjoy bird eggs, bats, and are commonly known to be nest raiders as well.

In the event that one encounters a snake, do remain calm.

Snakes are typically shy animals and will retreat if they come in contact with humans. Therefore, people should not approach the snake or attempt to handle it by themselves, said the National Parks Board (NParks) in an advisory.

Top image from Wu Yaocheng