Python Bursts After Trying to Eat Gator By DENISE KALETTE, Associated Press Writer
Wed Oct 5, 4:03 PM ET



MIAMI - The alligator has some foreign competition at the top of the Everglades food chain, and the results of the struggle are horror-movie messy.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v112/starguard/alligator.jpg

A 13-foot Burmese python recently burst after it apparently tried to swallow a live, six-foot alligator whole, authorities said.

The incident has heightened biologists' fears that the nonnative snakes could threaten a host of other animal species in the Everglades.

"It means nothing in the Everglades is safe from pythons, a top-down predator," said Frank Mazzotti, a University of Florida wildlife professor.

Over the years, many pythons have been abandoned in the Everglades by pet owners.

The gory evidence of the latest gator-python encounter — the fourth documented in the past three years — was discovered and photographed last week by a helicopter pilot and wildlife researcher.

The snake was found with the gator's hindquarters protruding from its midsection. Mazzotti said the alligator may have clawed at the python's stomach as the snake tried to digest it.

In previous incidents, the alligator won or the battle was an apparent draw.

"There had been some hope that alligators can control Burmese pythons," Mazzotti said. "This indicates to me it's going to be an even draw. Sometimes alligators are going to win and sometimes the python will win."

It is unknown how many pythons are competing with the thousands of alligators in the Everglades, but at least 150 have been captured in the past two years, said Joe Wasilewski, a wildlife biologist and crocodile tracker.

Pythons could threaten many smaller species that conservationists are trying to protect, including other reptiles, otters, squirrels, woodstorks and sparrows, Mazzotti said.

Wasilewski said a 10- or 20-foot python also could pose a risk to an unwary human, especially a child. He added, however, "I don't think this is an imminent threat. This is not a `Be afraid, be very afraid' situation.' <END>





Heres the link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051005/ap_on_re_us/gator_python_3;_ylt=AhxmRDK4egILm1pvJyk.s65saMYA;_ ylu=X3oDMTA5bGVna3NhBHNlYwNzc3JlbA--

It's been my understanding that any type of constrictor snake over 6 feet long is considered to be deadly.

Does anypne remember the giant python (approx 28 feet long) that was found living under a house in (I believe) Florida?
I can't recall if she was an escaped pet or not. ...the neighbors wondered why their neighborhood was bereft of cats, dogs, and other animals.
The guy who went in to capture the sanke (brave, brave fella) ended up keeping her as a pet. He said she was gentle and surviving the best way she could.
It is true that snakes of this kind can kill people, freqently their owners who don't treat them properly.

I would say that if they've captured 150 Burmese Pythons in the Everglades in just the past two years, it's perhaps a tad innaccurate to refer to them as "non-native"...they're native to the Everglades now :D

Can you just become native?

Heres some photos I found of a guy that was actually killed and eaten by a python :eek:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v112/starguard/pic1528.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v112/starguard/pic1529.jpg

I guess that this is proof that these things do not make very good house pets "especially around Children" :(

Originally posted by Dunkirk101
Heres some photos I found of a guy that was actually killed and eaten by a python :eek:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v112/starguard/pic1528.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v112/starguard/pic1529.jpg

I guess that this is proff that these things do not make very good house pets "especially around Children" :(
What....the....fuck...

I did a bit of digging around on the web and according to snopes.com, the photos of the guy in a snakes stomach are fake and have been floating about the 'net for years now.


Snopes.com (http://www.snopes.com/horrors/animals/anaconda.htm)

I have no pictures, but I had a friend years ago who had a 12' python. It got out one fine day and ate the neighbors poodle. She called the police, and they seized the snake. Fortunately it was not a child playing in the back yard.

Originally posted by Darth Be'lal
I did a bit of digging around on the web and according to snopes.com, the photos of the guy in a snakes stomach are fake and have been floating about the 'net for years now.


Snopes.com (http://www.snopes.com/horrors/animals/anaconda.htm)

He doesn't look very digested....

I had a friend that had his pet snake get ahold of his kid{2 ???} he was lucky and got the kid away before the snake made him into fast food. Some critters are not cute and cuddly

Originally posted by mad dog
I had a friend that had his pet snake get ahold of his kid{2 ???} he was lucky and got the kid away before the snake made him into fast food. Some critters are not cute and cuddly

i collect snakes but never anything that can get huge. with all "pets", people in the beginning think they are cute. then they get big, and people get scared because someone or soemthing in their lives could be on that pets food list.

ol' hybrid wolf pup is rolly polly cute, but as an adult it will develop a territory, and find it's place in the "pack" through pecking order. after established outsiders beware.
and think of if ya got stuck in a situation where you ran outta food. better eat fido/wolf, before he eats you.

Can you just become native?

There is evidence and theories of their immigration over here, yet we refer to the group as Native Americans...;)

What....the....fuck...

Yea...

Originally posted by Vilepagan
I would say that if they've captured 150 Burmese Pythons in the Everglades in just the past two years, it's perhaps a tad innaccurate to refer to them as "non-native"...they're native to the Everglades now :D
I've spent half my life in the Everglades hunting Osceola Turkey at 5:00 in the morning, and while I've seen countless Alligators, a few black snakes, armadillos, several rattlers, a TON of water moccasins (was bitten once – I’d recommend avoiding it), big ass, yet unidentified, spiders (although, a lot of black widows), wild boar (relatively small, but damn tasty), palmetto bugs, and of course, lots of turkeys - I've never seen a python. God, that's almost too scary to think about. Oh well, at least I'm armed when I'm there. I’ve killed two creatures in self-defense: a boar and an alligator. I don’t think I want to add pythons to that list.

Praetorian,

I've been thinking about maybe doing some hunting when I go to Florida for the winter. I have a place in Pompano Beach so it is no big deal to get to the Everglades. I saw a few boar last year, about two foot high at the shoulders, nothing like Hogzilla.

Do you need a guide or can you go out on your own?

I know when I go deer hunting in the Catskills I just take my trusty GPS and go wandering off in the forest.

Originally posted by ivan
i collect snakes but never anything that can get huge. with all "pets", people in the beginning think they are cute. then they get big, and people get scared because someone or soemthing in their lives could be on that pets food list.

I have nothing against folks that have snakes for pets or even other critters. What I can't stand are these morons that get a pet and don't have a clue. I find snakes interesting and enjoy watching them{have had a few as pets}. I have even met a guy that raised kodiak bears{what a wonderfull creature} He has never had a problem, probably because he found out what he was getting into before doing it.

ol' hybrid wolf pup is rolly polly cute, but as an adult it will develop a territory, and find it's place in the "pack" through pecking order. after established outsiders beware.
and think of if ya got stuck in a situation where you ran outta food. better eat fido/wolf, before he eats you.

I have been around these also and never had a problem. I quess it is how they are raised and treated and how a person respects their area?? I highly doubt a member of the wolf pack{dog} would eat their owner unless the owner was a dick to begain with??? These animals believe very highly in their pack and when they live with a human we become their pack. Most animals fear humans{probably all when they are young}, allmost every attack happens because of what the human has done. We have left the woods and lost the animal sense so when we see a "teddy bear" with think how cute and forget that this creature could rip us to shreds.

Originally posted by Frogger
Praetorian,

I've been thinking about maybe doing some hunting when I go to Florida for the winter. I have a place in Pompano Beach so it is no big deal to get to the Everglades. I saw a few boar last year, about two foot high at the shoulders, nothing like Hogzilla.

Do you need a guide or can you go out on your own?

I know when I go deer hunting in the Catskills I just take my trusty GPS and go wandering off in the forest.
Well, I've always hunted on private, family owned property (about 16 square miles), and would go with my father, my uncles, and my cousins. It was on cattle land, so there were lots of grazing fields that made it easier to spot turkeys in the early morning, and, all in all, I'd say the hunting was pretty good. In answer to your question, I'd recommend taking someone who A) knows the territory, and B) knows how to get to a hospital within an hour or less (trust me, if you're bitten by a water moccasin, rattler, or tussle with an alligator, having someone there to drive you around comes in real handy (although, that's not very likely)). You also have to contact the gaming commission in Everglades County to get a permit. If you're hunting without a license, and they catch you doing it, you can get in big trouble, so exercise some judgment and careful planning. A lot of the land is on state preservation, so if you just arbitrarily pick some remote location to hunt and you're caught, YOU WILL GO TO JAIL. To me, the Florida Everglades are like a page out of history untouched by time. There are creatures that can kill you, so I'd personally get a guide, rent some land, and go through the proper channels before you decide to hunt. It also depends on what you want to kill, for example, deer, turkey, or boar. Different areas will have different results, so talk to the locals, and get some opinions. BTW, Pompano Beach is pretty nice; I can understand why you spend some time there. :) We used to own property in Boca Raton, so I've been there many times. I flew out of Ft. Lauderdale, so I'm pretty familiar with the east cost.

Haven't hunted Florida yet. Most of my hunting has been on Long Island (years ago in my youth..........in fact, many years ago. Long Island is now pretty much closed to hunters but when I was a kid I used to hunt rabbits, quail and pheasant in my back yard. The only hunting I do on the island now is for ducks. Now I do most of my hunting in the Catskills. Up the mountain, down the mountain, up the next mountain. Good thing I never bag a deer. I would never be able to drag the damned thing out. :)

Originally posted by jimmason
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