Ananova:

A tiny mouse was thrown into a cage as food for a viper - but turned the tables and killed the snake instead.

Firefighters in Nantou town, Taiwan, caught the 35cm snake and put it into a mouse cage for safe-keeping.

"We then found it a mouse for lunch," a spokesman for the team told Apple Daily.

But the firefighters were stunned to see how aggressive the mouse became once it saw the predator in the cage.

"It attacked the snake continuously, biting and scratching it," the spokesman added.

After a vicious 30 minute battle, the snake was dead and the mouse was left with hardly a scratch.

Lan Sengqiu, the chief fireman, added: "Perhaps it used up its venom when we caught it, and perhaps it was a novice predator."