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View Full Version : Python Tries to Eat Alligator, Explodes

Casshew
10-05-2005, 05:26 PM
Alligators have clashed with nonnative pythons before in Everglades National Park. But when a 6-foot gator tangled with a 13-foot python recently, the result wasn't pretty.

The snake apparently tried to swallow the gator whole — and then exploded. Scientists stumbled upon the gory remains last week.

The species have battled with increasing frequency — scientists have documented four encounters in the last three years. The encroachment of Burmese pythons into the Everglades could threaten an $8 billion restoration project and endanger smaller species, said Frank Mazzotti, a University of Florida wildlife professor.

The gators have had to share their territory with a python population that has swelled over the past 20 years after owners dropped off pythons they no longer wanted in the Everglades. The Asian snakes have thrived in the wet, hot climate.

"Encounters like that are almost never seen in the wild. ... And we here are, it's happened for the fourth time," Mazzotti said. In the other cases, the alligator won or the battle was an apparent draw.

"They were probably evenly matched in size," Mazzotti said of the latest battle. "If the python got a good grip on the alligator before the alligator got a good grip on him, he could win."

http://www.foxnews.com/images/179329/0_21_100505_python.jpg


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,171358,00.html
MrsMush99
10-05-2005, 06:12 PM
ok that's just gross. Thanks for the pic Cass. :sick:
Warof2010
10-05-2005, 07:29 PM
Hard to believe that a 13 foot python would tangle with a six foot alligator intentionally. I can't see the snake ever winning.
Casshew
10-05-2005, 07:43 PM
The snake is super strong... all muscle - I put money on the snake to win most often.
Jules
10-05-2005, 07:45 PM
Where's Poco??? I'm sure she could shed some light on this snake discussion. ;)
mysteriew
10-05-2005, 11:32 PM
Looks like he bit off more than he could chew.
Lili
10-06-2005, 02:49 PM
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :clap:

Looks like he bit off more than he could chew.
Amraann
10-06-2005, 03:58 PM
At least now everyone will believe me about the breeding population of pythons in South Florida :)
Warof2010
10-10-2005, 01:51 PM
Python Apparently Swallows Family's 15-Pound Cat

POSTED: 9:54 am PDT October 10, 2005

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Elidia Rodriguez, of Miami Gardens, had been looking for her 1-year-old Siamese cat for two days when her son pointed out the bulging Burmese python slithering in her back yard.

Experts said that bulge in the 12-foot snake is probably the missing 15-pound cat. Rodriguez got the cat last year as a post-hurricane gift. She named the cat Frances, after the storm.

The snake was spotted in Rodriguez's back yard Sunday.

Experts with the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue antivenin unit said Frances wouldn't have stood a chance against the larger predator.

The snake was captured and taken to the Sense of Wonder Nature Center at AD Barnes National Park

Earlier this month, authorities say a 13-foot python burst after it apparently tried to swallow a live, 6-foot alligator whole.
Jeana (DP)
10-10-2005, 01:56 PM
Why would anyone want to live there?
Why would anyone let their pets outside if they knew these types of reptiles are out there?
Magnum PI
10-10-2005, 02:40 PM
A couple I know released an albino catfish about 5 inches long into their pond at their home. Thjat thing must weigh 20 pounds now. There are probably all sorts of exotic creatures out there that have been released by owners who should know better...the Nutria, walking catfish, Kudzu are examples of bad tampering with mother nature..I can only imagine what will turn up in the wake of the hurricanes...mpi
willow
10-10-2005, 11:19 PM
I can't for the life of me figure out which one to root for, the snake or the gator. UGH.

:croc:
SieSie
10-10-2005, 11:53 PM
http://www.foxnews.com/images/179329/0_21_100505_python.jpg


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,171358,00.html

I am totally not getting this picture at all. I think I see the alligators tail (top left), but I don't see a snake or any exploded parts. ?? And what's in the water, center top right area? It looks like another alligator. This is just bizarre, I can't imagine there being snakes that big - I'd be moving!!!
BillyGoatGruff
10-11-2005, 01:37 AM
A couple I know released an albino catfish about 5 inches long into their pond at their home. Thjat thing must weigh 20 pounds now. There are probably all sorts of exotic creatures out there that have been released by owners who should know better...the Nutria, walking catfish, Kudzu are examples of bad tampering with mother nature..I can only imagine what will turn up in the wake of the hurricanes...mpi
At least you can east kudzu if properly prepared and use it as silage for cattle (something most people don't know), which is more than you can say for invasive species such as snakeheads and walking catfish.
BillyGoatGruff
10-11-2005, 01:40 AM
I am totally not getting this picture at all. I think I see the alligators tail (top left), but I don't see a snake or any exploded parts. ?? And what's in the water, center top right area? It looks like another alligator. This is just bizarre, I can't imagine there being snakes that big - I'd be moving!!!
The alligator's legs and tail are sticking OUT of the snake ( the long brownish thing) which has ruptured. Note that you can not see the gator's head. I've seen a similar picture online of a python that had been split open in order to retrieve a young boy/man.
tired.old.hag
10-11-2005, 06:34 AM
Well I guess I'm not gonna swallow whole turkeys on Thanksgiving anymore...


;)
Jules
10-11-2005, 07:21 AM
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Well I guess I'm not gonna swallow whole turkeys on Thanksgiving anymore...


;)
SieSie
10-11-2005, 11:22 AM
The alligator's legs and tail are sticking OUT of the snake ( the long brownish thing) which has ruptured. Note that you can not see the gator's head. I've seen a similar picture online of a python that had been split open in order to retrieve a young boy/man.

Sorry, but I still don't see what part is what animal. I've numbered the items, maybe someone can help me figure out which is the snake and which is the alligator.
http://tinypic.com/ehzllz.jpg
Magnum PI
10-11-2005, 11:46 AM
Sorry, but I still don't see what part is what animal. I've numbered the items, maybe someone can help me figure out which is the snake and which is the alligator.
http://tinypic.com/ehzllz.jpg1=snake, 2=alligator, 3=snake
Jules
10-11-2005, 12:22 PM
In other words, the snake burst in half and forms a "u." Ugh, there went my appetite. ;)

I'm assuming the snake's head would be under water on the end of #3. I would assume the alligator was swallowed head first.

Hope this helps.
SieSie
10-11-2005, 12:33 PM
http://tinypic.com/ehzllz.jpg
1=snake, 2=alligator, 3=snake

Ewwwww, Thanks MPI and Jules - I see it now. I was honestly thinking that #1 was the alligator, it looks like an alligator body to me - I cannot even imagine a snake being THAT big!!! That's not a snake, it's a monster! So, we can't see the snake or alligators heads in this picture, and the snake exploding made it turn sideways (U-shaped). Ick, ick, and more ick!
Jules
10-11-2005, 12:44 PM
Most welcome... not something you'd like to see slithering through your backyard, eh?

OMG - there is NO WAY I could EVER live ANYWHERE where there are snakes like that!!
nanandjim
10-11-2005, 01:23 PM
In other words, the snake burst in half and forms a "u." Ugh, there went my appetite. ;)

I'm assuming the snake's head would be under water on the end of #3. I would assume the alligator was swallowed head first.

Hope this helps.
This is how I picture it (right or wrong). Before the snake exploded, the alligator was completely swallowed inside the snake. The snake's digestive system could handle such a big object and exploded causing the snake to split in half, thus exposing the lower half of the alligator which hadn't been digested yet.
Jules
10-11-2005, 01:34 PM
This is how I picture it (right or wrong). Before the snake exploded, the alligator was completely swallowed inside the snake. The snake's digestive system could handle such a big object and exploded causing the snake to split in half, thus exposing the lower half of the alligator which hadn't been digested yet.

Yep, I would think you are correct. :crazy:
BillyGoatGruff
10-11-2005, 06:50 PM
http://tinypic.com/ehzllz.jpg


Ewwwww, Thanks MPI and Jules - I see it now. I was honestly thinking that #1 was the alligator, it looks like an alligator body to me - I cannot even imagine a snake being THAT big!!! That's not a snake, it's a monster! So, we can't see the snake or alligators heads in this picture, and the snake exploding made it turn sideways (U-shaped). Ick, ick, and more ick!
It's not the biggest one I've seen. I've worked both in a zoo and at a carny sideshow. I've personally fed a live rabbit to a 25 ft. python, and watched a zoo keeper feed a small (mercifully dead) piglet to a 35 footer. You would not believe the speed of these things when they strike.
Sally
10-11-2005, 08:28 PM
I wonder if an Alka Seltzer could have prevented this. :waitasec:
SieSie
10-11-2005, 10:16 PM
It's not the biggest one I've seen. I've worked both in a zoo and at a carny sideshow. I've personally fed a live rabbit to a 25 ft. python, and watched a zoo keeper feed a small (mercifully dead) piglet to a 35 footer. You would not believe the speed of these things when they strike.
How fast can they move on the ground when they're that large? Doesn't seem like they'd really slither like the little garden snakes I grew up seeing. I still just can't believe that these things are out in the public - I could NEVER live somewhere where they're just out on the loose like that!!!

I wonder if an Alka Seltzer could have prevented this. :waitasec:
LOL! I was thinking that earlier today when I finally figured out exactly what I was seeing - Tums or Rolaids crossed my mind. :waitasec:
Magnum PI
10-13-2005, 01:59 AM
It's not the biggest one I've seen. I've worked both in a zoo and at a carny sideshow. I've personally fed a live rabbit to a 25 ft. python, and watched a zoo keeper feed a small (mercifully dead) piglet to a 35 footer. You would not believe the speed of these things when they strike.I watched a friend try to feed a mouse to his snake, and the snake grabbed his hand by mistake...why do people want snakes as pets? This is why we will have a snake problem..from well meaning pet owners...mpi