These kangaroo rats are kung-fu fabulous.

A new series of lighting-paced videos featuring the desert species fighting off its arch enemy, the rattlesnake, is picking up praise internet-wide Friday thanks to some high-kicking “Ninja Rat” skills.

While the sidewinder rattlesnake is an expert evader, its sneak attacks prove no match for the rodent’s “epic” moves, according to research teams from three California universities.

In large part, the kangaroo rat’s martial arts skills are due to what’s called “bipedalism,” two new studies published this week report. “The hind limbs of kangaroo rats appear to be specialized for explosive leaps that can rapidly propel them out of the attack trajectory of a predator,” the authors write.

In short, these tiny little critters are kicking butt in mere milliseconds.

“Kangaroo rats that responded quickly were frequently able to jump clear of the snake completely, leaving the serpent biting nothing but dust as the kangaroo rat rocketed seven-to-eight body lengths into the air,” says study co-author Rulon Clark, a biologist at San Diego State University.

“They often were able to avoid being envenomated by reorienting themselves in mid-air and using their massive haunches and feet to kick the snakes away, ninja-style,” Clark says.

Indeed, the kangaroo rat’s escape tactics are so impressive, it’s not just internet denizens who are shocked by the videos: The scientists who studied them are also floored.

“We couldn’t really tell what was happening but we knew something strange was going on,” says San Diego State University PhD student Malachi Whitford.

His co-author, Grace Freymiller, put it more succinctly, telling the Washington Post, “Holy s–t.”