PHOTOS: Brave rat attacks snake to save friend from being swallowed

Valiant: This brave little mouse jumped on and off of a hungry snake's head to try to save its companion

When two small white mice are dropped into a snake enclosure at a Chinese zoo, it's sad - but predictable - what will eventually happen.

This brave little mouse did everything in its power to try to save its companion after it was attacked by a hungry green snake.

The remarkable, but tragic, feeding encounter was witnessed at Hangzhou Zoo, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province.

The snakes had just woken from a long hibernation and the little mice were their first meals.

See more pictures below after cut...

Sadly, for the second mouse, fate was not on its side either. After failing to save its companion, it ran to hide on the far side of the enclosure.

But it did no take long before a second hungry snake awoke and devoured the brave little thing.
Sign of a true friend I guess, what the animal just did; many human can't.