This is the beastly moment a python made a last-ditch attempt to survive while it was being eaten by a monitor lizard.

Dramatic footage shows the two reptiles locked in battle next to a pond in Samut Sakhon province, Thailand, on February 21.

The monitor lizard clamped its jaws down on the python while the serpent wrapped around its head like a noose.

Despite putting up a fight, the python was eventually consumed by the larger creature.

Onlooker Anucha Seachomphoo said: 'My mother and I heard the leaves rustling on our mango tree so we went to check and found the snake there.

'We used a long stick to drive it away. But as it fell from the tree, a monitor lizard waiting below immediately snapped it up. The lizard went to sleep after eating.'

Asian water monitor lizards normally live in canals, swamps, sewers and ponds in cities in Thailand. They feed on fish, snakes, frogs and scraps of food left by humans.

The reptiles are aggressive when threatened and have a mildly venomous bite which sometimes carries harmful bacteria. The Godzilla-like reptiles are also a protected species in the country so their population thrives.

This is the beastly moment a python made a last-ditch attempt to survive while it was being eaten by a monitor lizard.

Dramatic footage shows the two reptiles locked in battle next to a pond in Samut Sakhon province, Thailand, on February 21.

The monitor lizard clamped its jaws down on the python while the serpent wrapped around its head like a noose.

Despite putting up a fight, the python was eventually consumed by the larger creature.

Onlooker Anucha Seachomphoo said: 'My mother and I heard the leaves rustling on our mango tree so we went to check and found the snake there.

'We used a long stick to drive it away. But as it fell from the tree, a monitor lizard waiting below immediately snapped it up. The lizard went to sleep after eating.'

Asian water monitor lizards normally live in canals, swamps, sewers and ponds in cities in Thailand. They feed on fish, snakes, frogs and scraps of food left by humans.

The reptiles are aggressive when threatened and have a mildly venomous bite which sometimes carries harmful bacteria. The Godzilla-like reptiles are also a protected species in the country so their population thrives.