Watch Florida Snake Strangle Hawk as Cops Step Into the 'Deadly Situation'

Patrol deputies in Alachua County, north-central Florida, were called out on Sunday afternoon to attend to an unusual fight between a predator and its prey.

The officers had received a tip about an injured hawk, lying on the road in a residential area outside of Gainesville. When they arrived, the cause of the injury took both officers by surprise.

"Deputy Dasher and Deputy Forero arrived to find that the hawk was being strangled by a snake," the Alachua County Sheriff wrote in a Facebook post, describing the incident as a "deadly situation." The small snake was tightly wrapped around the limp predator's neck. "Death for the hawk was imminent," the county sheriff added.

The snake had a strong grip on the bird, and it took over a minute for the officers to unwind the reptile. In footage of the incident, one of the officers can be heard saying that the snake was likely to be a black racer, a species native to North America that can be found throughout mainland Florida.

North American racer snakes are non-venomous and are not dangerous to people. The species are long and slender, growing to between 20 and 56 inches on average, according to the Florida Museum. They can be found across a range of different habitats, including prairies, scrub, woodlands and occasionally in suburban residential areas.

Although these snakes are not naturally aggressive, they will readily bite to defend themselves, especially if they are pinned down by their attacker.

In mid-December, a similar struggle between a racer snake and a hawk was reported in the same neighborhood. The snakes in that instance and in the Florida video had likely been attacked by the hungry hawks and fought back as a means of self-defense.

After a significant struggle, the officers were finally able to free the hawk, which flew off into the distance while the snake wriggled on the Tarmac. "Good job, everybody wins," said one of the officers in the video.

Footage from the incident has been viewed more than 50,000 times on Facebook and has been shared hundreds of times.

"One lucky hawk," wrote one user. "He would have been dead, but I think too big to get eaten, that would have been a waste. Wow."

"Snake said NOT TADAYYY Mr Hawk...NOT TAAADAYYY!!!" posted another.

Sheriff Watson of Alachua County thanked his deputies for going "above and beyond" the call of duty in incidents like these and for keeping both animals alive. "Great Work Gentleman!" the post read.

To avoid conflicts with hawks, the Florida Wildlife Commission advises that people avoid areas near to nests and eliminate food sources, like rodents, that might attract their prey onto your property.