Can a snake eat a human ??

Can a snake eat a human| Snake killing human| Human body found inside snake body| Pythons and Anacondas| Biggest snake in the world



Certainly, a snake can kill and eat a human. There are around more than 3500 snake species in the world out of which around 600 are venomous and a deadly bite from any of these is mostly fatal for humans. 



                                              

Python sun-basking
Image Source-  Google | Image by - pikrepo


But fortunately, the size of their prey is mostly the size of small mammals or rodents such as mice. Although these venomous species can kill a human but can’t eat them, there are still few constrictor species such as reticulated python or anaconda. 


Anacondas are the biggest snakes in the world some reaching up to 550 pounds and 30 feet in length. While an anaconda or python has been seen hunting and eating prey as big as a large deer, researches say that it would not be difficult for these giants to eat a human as well.



Habitat and distribution 



Pythons are distributed throughout Asia, Australia, Africa, and Madagascar. Pythons inhabit moist, green habitats such as savannas, rain forests, swamps, and grasslands. There are around 33 species of the species which weigh more than 200 pounds and grow up to 30 feet. 


                                               

Python eating a deer
Image Source-  Google | Image by - commons.wikimedia


Pythons do not have venom, they tie and encircle their bodies around their prey, killing them by asphyxia which is suffocation caused due to body deprived of oxygen due to external force. 


Anacondas also called “water boas,” inhabit the wetlands and rain forests of South America. There are four species of anaconda. The green anaconda is the largest snake in the world. Anacondas weigh up to 550 pounds, have a diameter of up to 12 inches, and grow up to 30 feet long. 


Characteristics and behavior 


Constrictors are stocky, muscular snakes that are thicker having thick necks and narrow but large heads. All constrictors have nostrils and eyes on the tops of their heads, which allow them to see above the water while remaining mostly submerged for both Python. 


                                                          


Image Source-  Google | Image by - commons.wikimedia


They have a thick black stripe that runs from the eye to the jaw in the case of Anacondas while dark reticulation marks on the entire length of the body in case of Pythons. 


While these are ambush predators using the technique of camouflage and attack which surprises its prey, both anacondas and pythons are nocturnal which is why they prefer t hunt at night. These constrictors become aggressive only when they are being challenged or threatened or looking for a hunt.

 

Attack on humans 

 

Although there have been multiple cases wherein constrictors have attacked people in the past but of them mostly did not turn out to be fatal because of timely rescue and medical attention given to them. Still, some of them have been very dreadful and need to be mentioned. 

 

The body of a 25-year-old Indonesian man who went missing in March 2017 was found inside the belly of a giant python. This horrific incident changed the perspective of humans towards snakes and drove the attention of the entire world towards the fact that a snake can actually kill a human. 


                                                     

Image Source-  Google | Image by commons.wikimedia

 

According to the locals, the 23-foot reticulated python apparently attacked the man from behind and swallowed him entirely. They suspected the snake had eaten the man because the creature was bloated and moving awkwardly.


In May 2016, a man in Thailand recovered fully after a 10-foot python slipped through the plumbing of his home and latched its jaws onto his penis as he was using a toilet. The victim said that he struggled to remove the snake for about half an hour before he managed to free himself with help from his wife and a neighbor. Emergency workers dismantled the squat toilet to remove the python after the man freed himself. The snake was released back into the wild.


In August 2008, a 10-foot Burmese Python bit a student zookeeper at the Caracas zoo in Venezuela and then crushed him till he died. His colleagues found the snake trying to swallow his head. The victim had apparently let the snake out of its enclosure while working a night shift. 


A 16-foot-long anaconda wrapped itself around an 8-year-old boy in Brazil in 2007. His grandfather came to his rescue, but it took the 66-year-old man a half-hour to uncoil the snake from the boy's body. 


In 2013, two young Canadian brothers were caught by an African rock python in their sleep. The brothers had been visiting the apartment of a friend whose father owned an exotic pet store on the floor below. However, the snake was being kept in the apartment where the boys were sleeping.


While these incidents have been one of the most discussed incidents, these clearly depict that snakes such as Pythons and Anacondas are very capable to even catch and kill a human. So these snakes can certainly justify the question that a snake can kill a human. 


This is also because of the fact that these snakes have been seen to hunt prey in nature equivalent to the size of a human body. But these can be prevented if certain precautions and minimization of human encroachment on the natural habitat of these deadly snakes.


Can a snake eat a human| Snake killing human| Human body found inside snake body| Pythons and Anacondas| Biggest snake in the world