07/07/2014 10:59 AM EDT
Seen on an early morning patrol in Arches National Park: a cottontail transfixed with fear, a snake still too sluggish to strike, and a chipmunk chirping its fool head off.
What happened next, you ask? The bunny hopped away, the patrol ranger escorted the snake safely out of the road, and the chipmunk bored quickly and left. Undramatic, as nature often is — when not scripted for TV.
Photo: National Park Service