Can a snake swallow a person. Grzimek Bernhard (3 photos). Can a snake swallow a person (Don't look impressionable!) How a python swallows a victim

Currently, several million snakes live on Earth. They live on every continent except Antarctica and mostly within most bodies of water on the planet. All of them have different level aggression, gluttony and hostility towards people.

Although some of these deadly reptiles can kill a human in a matter of seconds, the most agonizing attacks occur when the snakes do not have any venom at all, they kill their prey by suffocation. By digging their sharp, inward-curving teeth into the body of the victim, and then, wriggling and wrapping their massive bodies around them, they undoubtedly achieve a slow and painful death.

Over the decades, countless attacks on humans have been reported from anacondas, pythons to common boas. Many have come face to face with these dangerous reptiles in the jungle, in cities, and sometimes even in their own homes.

Video. Crazy man among huge pythons.
This is expert Jay Brewer, on the eve of the New Year 2015, he climbed up to three large pythons to share a video about animals that he raised himself. But he also noted that it is indeed unsafe.

Below are the ten most shocking attacks large snakes on people all over the world.

1 Canadian boys killed while sleeping
In 2013, in the city of Campbelton, New Brunswick, there was a terrifying attack by a hieroglyphic python or rock python (lat. python sebae). This particular breed of snake can weigh up to 80 kg, reach a length of up to 6 meters, and easily kill its prey by strangulation.

In this tragic case, two little boys were injured, who were definitely at the wrong time and in the wrong place. They stayed overnight at the apartment of a family friend who had a peculiar complex in the form of an exotic pet store in the same apartment.

Photo. The boys who were strangled by the snake

The report stated that the boys' cause of death was strangulation, and the escaped python was identified as their killer.

On the night of this incident, big snake remained in an enclosure not too far from where the four- and six-year-old victims slept. It was understandable how the unclosed python escaped from its cage, as there was a gap at the top due to the fact that the owner did not tightly close the snake in the cage.

The python was able to slip up the ventilation system, which soon collapsed under the weight of the reptile. Nothing prevented the Python from getting to the living room, where he stumbled upon two defenseless sleeping boys.

Photo. The same python

In the end, the reason why the python killed the children was never established, leaving many in bewilderment. Because of this event, many questions and some skepticism have arisen.

A snake expert who owned at least twenty of these snakes in his shop said the incident was highly unusual for this type of python, as they tend to be docile and timid. He argued that it was not impossible, but was simply very unexpected and idiosyncratic.

It was one of the most tragic attacks of this breed of snake. The python, who had lived in the complex for almost ten years, was immediately put to death due to this incident.

2 Snake owner charged with murder
Surprisingly, many cases of people being killed by large snakes actually take place in their own homes. Snakes that are masters of escape can often be found outside of cages. These reptiles, kept as pets for many years, are usually overlooked by their owners when they are not on the loose.

In Oxford, Florida, the owner of an albino Burmese python was sentenced to jail after his pet escaped his confinement to kill his daughter Shanianna ( Shanianna) in her crib.

Photo. Employees law enforcement 2.5-meter albino Burmese python is carried out of the house where he killed a 2-year-old girl

On the morning of the incident on July 1, 2009, a python named Gypsy was found tightly wrapped around a two-year-old victim, his mouth beginning to swallow the victim's head.

Although isolated incidents in the past have not resulted in any criminal charges, in this case, the incident involved the 21-year-old owner and mother of Jaren Hare ( Jaren Hare), is different. The 2.5-meter predator escaped from his aquarium with such ease that it once again showed the complete lack of care and concern for his defenseless daughter.

The aquarium where the python was kept was covered with a duvet on top of the cage. To make matters worse, the medical examiner testified that the snake was significantly underweight and malnourished, which may have been the cause of the incident.

Jaren Hare and her partner were found guilty of manslaughter of a child, third-degree murder due to the snake attack.

3 Anaconda Attacks TV Show Host
During the incident, the show's TV presenter tropical forests The Amazon in Colombia has been attacked by an angry anaconda. Hoping to get footage for his popular Brazilian television program, famed Toninho Negreiro ( Toninho Negreiro), decided to catch an anaconda in the forest.

During this walk, Toninho was accompanied by El Diablo, a jungle legend who was said to have a mysterious power over snakes.

El Diablo reveals that he can smell snakes and leads Toninho and his team to a beautiful and no less dangerous Amazon. Soon while walking, El Diablo freezes and throws himself into the grass, a second later he pulls out an anaconda that was almost three times longer than himself.

The anaconda was disturbed and began to wrap itself around El Diablo. He gave the reptile to Toninho, and then took it back and released it into the wild.

Video. Anaconda grabs the TV presenter's hand

After this incident, Toninho left the team alone. Soon he began to call for help and people ran to him, seeing him in the arms of an anaconda. He was already in an extremely excited state, the snake instantly attacked him, squeezing his forearm with its jaws and wrapping around his body.

In the end, five adult men with difficulty freed him from the suffocating embrace, but it remained to free himself from the jaws, which the snake was not going to unclench. El Diablo helped get rid of the teeth of the anaconda.

Although only his forearm was affected by the attack, he quickly recovered and returned to the Amazon basin within two months to resume filming.

4. A boa constrictor almost kills a woman in Texas
Even when a snake is trained and consistently calm, it doesn't change the fact that it is still a cold-blooded predator.

A Texas woman with years of experience handling large snakes was attacked by a 2.5-meter boa constrictor on July 26, 2011. Victim, Debi Grudzinski ( Debi Grudzinski) tried to give a snake named Icenia ( Icenia) a little water, then everything happened.

Photo. A boa constrictor attacks a woman

It was a common practice she did on a daily basis as she had been taking care of Aisnia for almost eight years now. In a shocking moment, the boa grabbed Debi's arm and began to coil around her. By the time Aisnia had at least half of her length wrapped around Debi's arm, the woman began to panic, and her daughter immediately dialed 911.

Help arrived within minutes. Debi began to feel weak and the snake already squeezed the woman's hand very tightly. Rescuers 911 should have been quick enough to try to free Debi's hand from the jaws of the reptile.

They managed to quickly free Debi without Aisnia being killed. Debi signed everything Required documents and her pet was sent to an animal shelter for recovery.

SourcePhoto 5A python kills a careless student in Venezuela
In the summer of 2008, working the night shift alone at the zoo among numerous deadly predators, it is obvious that he did not consider this potentially dangerous. Sooner or later, such carelessness could lead to sad consequences. At least zookeeper Eric Arrieta ( Erick Arrieta) violated the rules of the establishment and entered the cage alone.

A 3-meter Burmese python, which had recently been donated to the Caracas Zoo in Venezuela, caused the sudden death of a 29-year-old student.

Photo. Python attacks student

The snake was rather new to the new habitat and was not even on public display at the zoo. Eric foolishly violated one of the most important rules behavior at the zoo when he entered the snake's cage, this mistake ended up costing him his life.

Since he was the only one on duty, no one heard his moans or cries for help when the snake attacked him. Only in the morning colleagues found him in a cage. By this time, the python had already suffocated Eric to death and began to consume him. When the snake was actively swallowing the head of the slain Erik, his colleagues intervened and freed his lifeless body.

While this attack itself was unusual as Erik was far beyond the ideal size to be prey for a 3m snake, this was not a shock as Burmese pythons are the most aggressive snakes among the large boas.

6Pet python attacks owner in New York
Burmese pythons are the most aggressive of the boas, but that doesn't stop people from taking them home. Every year there are dozens of attacks by pythons on their owners and this species is responsible for the largest number of injuries and deaths. Owners of these reptiles should always be aware that they must take extreme care when handling them.

Photo. Python will attack its owner

19 year old Grant Williams ( Grant Williams), who did not heed proper warning and safe python handling practices, met his death as a result. One fine day in 1996, he was found in the corridor of his apartment building, dripping blood, a 4-meter-long snake wrapped tightly around him.

Contact with a hungry python is a very stupid act and certain procedures must always be followed. Grant was not careful in his latest attempt to feed the python. The snake was outside its cage, and the live chicken that Grant planned to feed the python was hidden in a box in close proximity. The creation of such a situation deadly mistake for Grant.

Since pythons have a very keen sense of smell, the victim's family and friends believe that the hungry snake smelled the chicken he regularly fed, but it only saw a moving target as its dinner, and that was Grant.

Although the snake didn't even begin to ingest it as an alternative meal, unfortunately Grant didn't survive the attack. The paramedics exhaustively tried to resuscitate Williams on the way to the hospital, but, unfortunately, they were unable to do so. Grant was pronounced dead an hour after he was taken to a nearby hospital.

7. 6-meter python against an angry mother with a knife
In Las Vegas, Nevada, a family of three temporarily shared their household with a 6-meter reticulated python. For several weeks, the parents of a 3-year-old boy, 25-year-old Melissa Melendez ( Melendrez Melendrez) and 26-year-old Anthony Melendez ( Anthony Melendrez) decided to take care of their friend's reptile.

Photo. A python that tried to swallow a 3 year old boy

The house remained unexplored for a large snake, one day on January 20, 2009, the parents were unable to properly take care of the python. After only a few weeks at the new place of residence, the reptile was able to move freely around the house.

Shortly after gaining freedom, the snake stumbled upon something that satisfied her curiosity. The 3-year-old son of Melissa and Anthony was in one of the bedrooms of the house.

Without much hesitation, the snake bit and began to swallow the baby. By the time Melissa discovered this, her son was already sinking into unconsciousness.

She immediately called for help. It took six police officers, a pet control officer, and Melissa with her comfortable kitchen knife to finally free her child from the aggressive snake.

The child, with a blue face, was rushed to the hospital, where he stayed overnight. During this time, he recovered well, the future of the injured snake was not so bright. The snake was euthanized shortly after the incident, and the boy's parents were criminally charged due to abuse with baby.

8. Horny python overrules a woman
Reticulated pythons are the strongest and longest reptiles on the planet. It is highly recommended that at least one other adult be present while handling this large and strong snake.

Amanda Black, 25 amanda black), the owner of a 4-meter reticulated python named Diablo ( Diablo), thought she could handle the reptile on her own.

Photo. Python managed to kill a woman

The pet was sick and was prescribed appropriate medications. Amanda took it upon herself to treat the snake, she needed to give the snake medicine. According to Amanda's husband, Diablo didn't like the medical procedures or the process of getting them.

Making a python's large strong and flexible mouth open must certainly be approached with great care. As Amanda tried to give the medicine, the snake naturally didn't like it and became aggressive. In the end, this was enough to attack and overpower her. During the attack, Diablo wrapped himself around Amanda and began to intensely squeeze her neck, which led to death by suffocation.

The python did not kill her in a predatory manner, as is usually the case during most snake attacks on humans. Diablo did not even try to swallow it after death, but immediately fled the scene of the crime. Snake expert Bowen Ledgess says that pythons over 2 meters should be attended by at least two people, and especially if they are being treated with medication.

Source 9Australian mother finds snake in bed with daughter
While it may seem that in many cases pythons attack people in their own homes when they adopt them as pets, there are some horrific reports when people find these large reptiles who inadvertently entered their homes. Most of these incidents occur in areas where pythons usually live, such as in Australia.

Photo. Mom and her daughter who escaped from a python

In one such case, a woman lay down on the night of January 5, 2013 with her 2-year-old daughter. She was soon awakened by her cat's hiss and noticed strange writhing movements on her bed. Since Tess Guthrie's suspicion Tess Guthrie) forced her to take her mobile phone to shine a light on something that moves, what she saw left her speechless. What was actually moving was a six foot long python sharing a bed with her and her daughter.

When she saw the python, it was already wrapped around the arm of Guthrie's helpless little daughter. Tess knew she had to act quickly, but when the python sensed that the woman had caught him in the act, he began to fight back. Fearing that the python might kill her daughter, Tess immediately grabbed long reptile. Because the snake had bitten her daughter, Tess quickly grabbed the snake's head, forced the child to let go, and threw it across the room.

Frightened, they ran out of the room and waited until the snake was taken from the house. Shortly thereafter, they were taken to the hospital, where they spent the whole night healing the wounds inflicted by the python.

10. A man saved his grandson from an anaconda
If we evaluate snakes by weight, then, undoubtedly, the anaconda is in the first place, largest species snakes on the planet. They can reach an astonishing 8 meters in length and weigh up to 100 kg!

Some of these heavyweights live in South America, and sometimes in this region and people have the sad experience of contact with these large snakes.

In one terrible incident, a small Brazilian boy who lived in an area about 250 km northwest of São Paulo fell victim to an anaconda.

Photo. The grandfather who saved his grandson from an anaconda

One afternoon on February 8, 2007, when he and a friend were playing near a stream, they would never have thought that a 5-meter anaconda was watching them below the surface of the water.

As soon as Matheus ( Mateus) approached the water, the hidden anaconda decided to pounce on him. Using your 5 meter muscles, big jaws and teeth, the reptile twisted the boy with ease.

As soon as she began to sink her teeth into Matheus's neck and shoulders, his friend ran for help. But not so soon he returned with the grandfather of Matheus, who was ready to fight.

Photo. Scars on the body of a grandson rescued from an anaconda

With a small machete and a grin, 60-year-old grandfather Matheus was finally able to free his defenseless grandson from predatory beast, who struggled with him for almost thirty minutes.

After wild attack, Matheus was immediately taken to the hospital. After the incident, the 8-year-old boy looked pretty decent. After placing the 21st stitch on the chest where he was bitten, he quickly recovered. He was very lucky to survive the attack and didn't even have broken bones.

Original taken from masterok V

All the time I thought that a boa constrictor (or some other snake) CANNOT SWALLOW a person purely for physiological reasons. All films about it are fiction and horror films. But what does it turn out to be? Here is yesterday's news.

In Russia, a drunk can freeze, but it turned out that in hot India it is also dangerous to get completely drunk. A man lying under a degree on the street near a store in Indian state Kerala, ate a huge man-eating python.

A snake that swallowed a man. Photo: India, Kerala.

The incident happened in the Indian state of Kerala, which, like Goa, attracts a large number of tourists.

In India, a careless man decided to have a pleasant evening, but he didn’t bring alcohol home and drank the purchased drinks right next to the liquor store. In the same place, the drunkard settled down for the night.

And in the morning locals found a swollen snake on the threshold of a shop. It turned out that the python crawled past the liquor store and saw the "food". He strangled the man, and then swallowed his victim. After such a hearty "dinner", the reptile could not crawl away and lay down on the site of the emergency.

Subsequently, the swollen snake was discovered by local residents, according to LOTD.

This example can be an edification to the numerous tourists who go to India on vacation and often forget about the sense of proportion in relation to alcohol and other relaxing substances there.

And here is such a case:

A huge python, according to the stories of the children, unexpectedly grabbed their friend when they were collecting fallen mangoes in the garden. The snake quickly wrapped itself around the child, tightly squeezing his arms and legs. The boy was so frightened that he did not even scream or cry.

“The python squeezed him harder until the boy closed his eyes and threw back his head,” said an eyewitness to the tragedy, 11-year-old Cave. “I realized that he was dead or unconscious. Then the snake opened its mouth wide and began to swallow him all at once, starting from the head. For three hours, the children silently watched what was happening, afraid to move or call for help.

Later, the police and snake experts found no trace of the tragedy - the child and his clothes disappeared along with the snake. On the crumpled grass, only a trace remained, leading to the spring. Herpentologists explained that the African python needed water to better digest its prey.

According to experts, this is the first case of cannibalism for this species of snakes. The python must have woken up after hibernation and was very hungry.

A reptile swollen from a human body was found nearby in the jungle, it could not crawl far. The snake was killed and immediately cut up, but the boy could not be saved - he died of suffocation.

Another case:

It turns out that the plot of the film “Anaconda” has a real basis and in our sinful world there are giant reptiles that can swallow a person whole.

Usually snakes prefer to attack smaller creatures that they can swallow without problems, but despite this, there are many documented cases when these reptiles swallowed livestock, dogs and even baby hippos.

Unfortunately, the diet of these predators is not limited to such a meager set of dishes, and creeping reptiles are not averse to tasting human flesh if possible. It's hard to believe, but there really are giant giants on Earth, for which a person is just prey.

Four friends: Jose Ronaldo. Fernando Contaro, Miguel Orvaro and Sebastian Forte went to the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil for camping and fishing. Fishing went well, and alcohol flowed like a river. Returning from the river, friends noticed the absence of the fourth member of their cheerful company- Jose Ronaldo dentist. The tipsy fishermen were looking for their drinking companion before dark, but Jose, as if through the ground, fell through.

The next day, in a cheerful and high spirits, they went in search, in the hope of finding their friend lying drunk in some ditch. In the late afternoon they found his torn clothes.

“At first we thought it was a robbery: the ground around was dug up, as if someone was fighting on it,” says one of the fishermen, Fernando Contaro. “My heart was relieved, because if he was attacked by a person, and not a wild animal, then he could survive!”.

After examining the place of struggle, they found a deep footprint in the ground leading to the forest. An experienced hunter, Sebastian Forte, immediately said that a snake had left him ... a very large snake, at least 10 meters long. The sun was already setting and the men decided to return to the camp.

The next morning, the men followed the snake trail. What they found at the end of their journey shocked them: in front of them lay a giant anaconda with an incredibly bloated body. Miguel pressed the python's head to the ground with a stick, and Fernando shot the reptile twice in the head with a revolver. Anaconda was towed to the camp, where they cut open her stomach and removed the dentist's body, which had already begun to be digested.

If a snake swallows a person, which happens relatively rarely, then by all means - only for the purpose of “eating a little”. Here one could quote a lengthy instruction recently published on the Internet on what to do if you are swallowed by a python or anaconda. The main idea is that you need to give the snake more to swallow its legs, and then, with a sharp movement of a sharp knife, cut its head from the side from the inside. Where to get a sharp knife and what to do if they started swallowing you from the head - this instruction does not tell.

The only difficulty in swallowing a person should be caused by the shoulders. An adult broad-shouldered man can hardly be swallowed ...

The snake's jaw can certainly move apart, but still up to a certain limit. Only possible way- if the snake contrives to swallow a person lying on its side (or itself turns its head in such a way that the victim enters it sideways).

So the anaconda may well swallow a child, a woman, a medium-sized narrow-shouldered man ...

Case three. Why shouldn't snakes eat hippos?

The answer is simple, hippos have too thick skin that more than one snake is simply unable to digest.

(The spectacle is impartial, think twice before you look)

Video: a stupid python that ate a baby hippo, crawled with this carcass for a week, terribly hungry and forced to expel this delicacy from itself.

And here is a very recent case in March of this year:

A seven-meter python swallowed an adult man.
On the island of Sulawesi, which belongs to Indonesia, a giant python swallowed an adult man whole, according to the Daily Mail.

According to the publication, 25-year-old Akbar Salubiro disappeared on Sunday, March 26. On this day, he was going to the neighboring village to collect palm oil.

The next evening, fellow villagers, worried about his disappearance, began searching and found a seven-meter bloated python in the backyard of a man's house. They decided to dissect the reptile and found Salubiro's body.

Salubiro Junaidi, a village council spokesman, said that the night before the snake was discovered, people heard screams coming from the palm grove. Why no one came to the call, he did not elaborate.

And now just curious information about snakes on this topic.

Bernard Grzimek.

From the book "Animals are my life."

Can a snake swallow a person?

“There is no doubt that the ancients meant by their dragons our modern giant snakes. The striking size of these animals, their considerable strength, and the general fear of snakes in general, make very understandable the exaggerations of which the ancients are guilty.<…>Over time, human fantasy endowed dragons even richer, and from the incomprehensible tales of oriental people gradually grew images for which man of sense searched in vain for the originals, because information about the giant snakes themselves was almost lost. All the more stubbornly did uneducated people hold on to the favorite description of a large dragon or a serpent-gorynych, spewed to the ground to the death of the whole world ”(A. E. Bram)

A giant twenty-meter or even thirty-meter snake, hiding on a bough, lies in wait for its prey. From a blow to the top of her stone-hard head, a man taken by surprise falls almost unconscious to the ground, and the snake rushes at him with a lightning throw and wraps its rings around him, breaking all his bones in an iron embrace. This happens in cases where brave liberators do not arrive in time to help, who cut the snake to pieces with knives ...

Description of such heartbreaking scenes can be found in many adventure novels and even in other accounts of expeditions to the uncharted tropics.

Do they really attack? giant snakes per person? Are they capable of swallowing us? Hardly any other animal is fantasized about as much as pythons, anacondas or boas. And therefore, it is precisely with regard to these animals that even a specialist finds it very difficult in each case. separate case decide what is true and what is fiction.

It starts with the definition of length. Even serious travelers claimed that anacondas 30 or even 40 meters long are found in the forests of the Amazon. But they, as a rule, were silent at the same time whether they measured these snakes themselves or know this from eyewitness accounts.

Anaconda is the same boa constrictor, only South American. It is she who is considered the largest and strongest among all the giant snakes in the world. Another South American snake, also no less famous and also a boa (Constrictor), reaches a length of "only" five or six meters.

I must say that measuring a snake is not so easy. It is most convenient to do this, of course, when it is stretched to its full length. But for a large snake, such a posture is completely unnatural; some of them are simply not able to accept it - they need to bend at least the very end of the tail to the side in order to have support. Voluntarily, such a strong animal will not allow itself to be straightened for measurement. In a dead snake, the body usually becomes so ossified that it is even more difficult to make a measurement. If we judge the length of snakes by their skins for sale, then it is very easy to fall into error: after all, this skin is sold by the meter, and therefore, while it is fresh, it can be stretched in length by 20 percent, and some say that even all 50. Snake hunters often use this.

It is interesting that live snakes are sold by the meter. Snake dealers charge zoos for small and medium-sized pythons from 80 pfennigs to one mark per centimetre. The New York Zoological Society announced many years ago that it would pay 20,000 marks to anyone who brought a live anaconda over ten meters long; yet no one has yet been able to earn this tempting sum.

Yet it is quite possible that such giants exist or existed until quite recently. The weight of such an animal should be quite impressive; for example, an Asian reticulated python measuring 8.8 meters weighs 115 kilograms. It is no wonder that such a colossus, living in the thicket of a virgin forest, is not so easy to overcome without a whole horde of helpers. And then after all, you still need to be able to deliver it unharmed to the airfield or to the port.

The record length of the hieroglyphic python (Python sebae), widespread in Africa, is 9.8 meters. The Indian, or tiger, python (Python molurus) reaches 6.6 meters, the East Asian reticulated python (Python reticulatus) - either 8.4 meters, or 10 meters, depending on which source to believe. Slightly smaller amethyst python.

So we, in fact, have already listed all the six giants of the snake world: four egg-laying pythons - natives of the Old World and two viviparous boas - the New. Among the 2500 species of snakes inhabiting Earth, there are a number of other types of boas and pythons, but they are much smaller.

Giant snakes are not venomous. Unlike the fat giants of the serpent realm Poisonous snakes(For example, African mamba, sometimes reaching four meters, and even longer - King Cobra) thinner and leaner.

It takes a long time for a snake to reach its enormous size. An eight-meter reticulated python living in the Pittsburgh Zoo grew by only 25 centimeters in a year. The older the snake gets, the slower it grows.

By appearance it is absolutely impossible to determine whether a snake is a male or a female. A pair of hieroglyphic pythons that arrived at the New York Zoo at the age of one, grew at the same rate for the first six or seven years, but then the female began to noticeably lag behind in growth. The fact is that during this time she began to fast every year for six months: during the maturation of the eggs and when she warmed them, curled up around them.

Until what age can giant snakes live in the wild, we do not know. No one has ever ringed them in their habitats, as has been done for decades, for example, with migratory birds. We can only judge their age from zoo data. The anaconda lived the longest at the Washington Zoo - 28 years (from 1899 to 1927). One of the boas lived in England at the Bristol Zoo for 23 years and 3 months, and the hieroglyphic python reached the age of eighteen there. A tiger python at the San Diego Zoo, California, lived to be 22 years and 9 months old, and two East Asian reticulated pythons, one in London and one in Paris, died at 21 years of age.

The giants of the snake kingdom are the only large animals on Earth that do not have a voice, like, in fact, all other snakes. At best, they can hiss. Snakes are not only dumb, but also deaf. They do not perceive sound vibrations of the air - they do not have ears for this, like other animals. But they perfectly perceive any, even the most insignificant shaking of the soil or bedding on which they rest.

In addition, these deaf-mute giants also have poor vision. Their eyes are devoid of moving eyelids, and the transparent leathery film protecting the eye during each molt is separated along with the entire skin and removed like glass from a watch. The snake eye lacks iris muscles, so the pupil cannot constrict in bright light and dilate in dim light. The snake barely reacts to a change in the illumination of the eyes: the lens in it cannot bend, as in ours, which makes it impossible for snakes to carefully examine objects located at close or far distances at will. To see anything, the snake has to move its entire head forward and backward. Perhaps all these are very useful properties (necessary, for example, for swimming and especially for looking at various objects under water), but, by God, in the animal world there are much more advanced eyes.

Since the python, like other snakes, does not close its eyes during sleep, it is always very difficult to determine whether it is sleeping or awake. Some snake researchers claim that a sleeping snake looks down, that is, its pupil is at the lower edge of the eye; others dispute this assertion.

The immobility of the snake's eyes gave rise to the repeated tale that snakes allegedly hypnotize, as if paralyzing their prey with their gaze. Frogs, lizards or small rodents do sometimes sit completely still in the presence of a giant boa constrictor, but this is explained different reasons: sometimes they simply do not notice the danger, and sometimes they are numb with fear; such fading brings them a certain benefit, since the immovable victim of the snake is not distinguished. After all, it is only when the frog runs away that the snake overtakes it.

How, after all, do these deaf-mute and, moreover, short-sighted giants find their livelihood? It turns out that they have developed such sense organs that we do not possess. So, for example, they unmistakably feel heat at a far distance. The snake feels the human hand already at a distance of thirty centimeters. Therefore, silently crawling snakes are quite easy to find even those warm-blooded animals that carefully hid in shelters. So that at the same time their own breathing does not interfere with them, some of them (for example, pythons) have their nostrils turned up and back.

But the sense of smell is most developed in snakes. It is rather surprising that the organ of smell is located in their mouth, on the palate, and necessary information he is delivered by the tongue, which extracts various small particles from the air. So the snakes daylight not needed, they can crawl in the footsteps of their prey with the same success day and night.

Somehow, not far from the Serengeti, my son Michael and I stumbled upon a huge hieroglyphic python, reaching three to four meters in length. We decided to take it with us. By the way, giant snakes, if they do not hold on to a tree or are not entangled in the bushes, are not so difficult to catch. In an hour, they can do no more than one and a half kilometers - if they suddenly have a desire to crawl for an hour. Giant snakes move in a completely different way than their smaller relatives. They move forward, wriggling with their whole body, while in a giant snake, abdominal scales serve for this purpose. The scales are set in motion by the muscles extending from the ribs (the ribs themselves remain motionless at the same time), forcing it to move forward and backward like small scoops of an excavator.

At that time we did not yet have much experience in handling snakes, and therefore at first we showed extreme caution when guiding the python with horns. But in the end, we still decided to grab the snake by the tail, and she did not even try to attack us. We managed to stuff it into a sack, which we tied up and put under the camp bed in our tent for the night. Unfortunately, the next morning the bag was empty. Huge snake still managed to get out. However, from the trail she left, one could easily find out where she crawled. This track was straight, distinct and wide, as if someone was rolling a car tire.

Not a single snake, including poisonous ones, is able to catch up with a running person. But giant snakes can swim perfectly, much better than other land animals. As for the anaconda, it can be considered more aquatic than terrestrial animals.

Serpents and the sea do not care. So, one boa constrictor (Constriktor) was carried by the current for 320 kilometers from the South American coast and washed up on the island of St. Vincent, where he arrived in a great mood.

When Krakatau volcano erupted in 1888, all living things were destroyed on the island of the same name. Biologists observed how, over the following years and decades, various lichens, plants and animals gradually reappeared here. So, among the reptiles, rock pythons were the first to appear there, which by 1908 again took possession of the island.

Giant snakes have not yet completely turned into round ropes, as happened with other representatives of the snake tribe. Boas and pythons, like us, still have a pair of lungs, while in most other snakes the left lung has disappeared, and the right one has greatly elongated and noticeably expanded. Giant snakes have preserved small remains of pelvic and hip bones. But from the hind legs, only two pitiful claws remained outside - to the right and left of the anus.

How do such slow giants manage to catch their prey? From the very beginning it should be said that the statement that they deprive the consciousness of a person or some animal with a blow to the head is absolutely wrong. The head of these gigantic monsters is not particularly hard, and in any case softer than ours. The snake itself would not be too pleased to use it for boxing. In addition, the attack of a giant snake is by no means as lightning fast as it is made out to be. The force with which a snake weighing 125 kilograms pounces on the victim does not exceed the force with which a dog weighing 20 kilograms attacks. Of course, some flimsy, unsportsmanlike European from such a push can fall. But a more or less dexterous man is quite capable of coping with a four-meter boa constrictor alone, at least if he manages to stand on his feet; he can pull down the snake coils that are wrapped around him with a few vigorous jerks.

It is much more important for a snake not to hit its head, but to cling to the victim with its teeth. To do this, she opens her mouth to the limit. The reticulated python has one hundred backward-curving teeth arranged in six rows in its mouth. Therefore, if he managed to grab at least a finger, it is no longer so easy to pull it back. To do this, you need to try to unclench the jaws of the snake and first stick your hand even further into the mouth, and then pull it out.

Only when the snake has firmly grasped the victim with its teeth, does it begin to wrap its rings around it. Therefore, those who have to deal with giant snakes should always remember that they need to be grabbed only by the "nape" - behind the head, so that they cannot bite.

Please take a closer look at the film footage or photographs depicting the “struggle” of a person with a giant snake, which allegedly strangles its victim. You will almost certainly notice that the "victim" grabbed the snake by the throat. In such cases, the person himself wraps the snake around himself and then plays out this whole scene of frenzied struggle.

But even if the snake managed to grab its prey with its teeth and wrap several rings around it, this does not mean that it can “crush all its bones.” Giant snakes, even if they weigh more than a hundred kilograms, by no means have such remarkable strength that they are credited with. After all, the larger and heavier the animal, the less strength it has in terms of a kilogram of body weight. Thus, a louse, given its weight, is 10 thousand times stronger than an elephant. And smaller snakes can squeeze and suffocate a suitable prey much more strongly than giant snakes can do their own.

Giant snakes kill not by crushing bones, but by strangulation. They squeeze so hard chest his victim, that she is not able to breathe air into the lungs. It is possible that the heart is also paralyzed from prolonged squeezing. The snake rings, wrapped around the victim's torso, act more like a rubber gut or rubber bandage than a strong one.<анат. Раздавить таким способом твердый костяк абсолютно невозможно. Поэтому когда в некоторых сообщениях о нападении змей фигурируют раздавленные человеческие черепа, то заранее можно твердо сказать, что это досужий вымысел. Человеческий череп достаточно твердый орешек, и мягкими, эластичными предметами его не расколешь!

My collaborator Dr. Gustav Lederer, who for forty years directed our exotarium, carefully examined three pigs, three rabbits and three rats, killed but not yet swallowed by giant snakes. No broken bones were found on the victims. But in the already swallowed prey there were broken bones.

Giant snakes are kept in many zoos around the world and, as a rule, do not show any aggressiveness as long as they are left alone. They are even quite easy to tame. Free-living pythons, when attacked or seized, defend themselves only by trying to bite, and almost never try to throw their rings on the enemy, they do this only with the prey they are about to swallow.

In zoos, there are sometimes circumstances in which force must be applied to a snake (for example, transplanting a newly arrived guest into a terrarium or in cases where veterinary intervention is necessary). To keep the snake, people are arranged in this way: for every linear meter of the snake there is one person who must hold his part tightly, under no circumstances letting go of it.

I have asked everywhere about any case where a snake in a zoo would have killed someone, but so far I have never heard of it. True, I was told that at Rugs' Animal Company a few decades ago, a seven or eight meter reticulated python wrapped itself around Siegfried's senior attendant and "broke several of his ribs."

One former dancer, who once performed with snake dances, told the attendants of our Frankfurt Zoo that one of the snakes once squeezed her so hard - ~: broke two ribs. But in order for a slender girl to break two ribs, no supernatural powers are required. For example, once one of my sons, in a seizure, gently hugged his bride so tightly that something crunched inside her. Turns out he broke her rib...

Although giant boas, as already mentioned, are rarely tamed, nevertheless, the snakes with which dancers perform in various variety shows and circuses do not have to be tame at all. In order to wrap the snakes around the shoulders and waist without any risk during the dance, it is quite enough to cool them down before the performance, then you can wish almost anything with them. These cold-blooded animals become active only after they get warm enough.

Of course, dragging snakes on tour, especially in winter, keeping them in poorly heated stage restrooms or hotel rooms does not do them any good.

They do not last long and die. Therefore, dancers often have to restock their pythons.

It is not true that giant snakes have a habit, holding the end of their tail to a bough, hanging from a tree and thus catching their prey. The statement that they pre-moisten a dead animal with their saliva to facilitate swallowing is also incorrect. This misconception is based on the fact that snakes are often forced to regurgitate swallowed prey. This happens for various reasons: either the prey is unreasonably large, or when swallowed, it takes an uncomfortable position, or it has horns that prevent it from moving along the esophagus, and sometimes someone just frightened the snake, and this prevented her from calmly coping with the prey. Of course, a regurgitated animal is abundantly moistened with saliva, which led people who accidentally saw this to a misinterpretation.

Even very large and heavy snakes are able to crawl into relatively small loopholes, narrow windows or cracks in the fence. In this way, they usually make their way into chicken coops, pigsties, or barns where goats are kept. And so, when they, having swallowed their prey whole, try to crawl back into the same hole from which they came, a huge thickening on the body does not allow them to get out, and they find themselves in a trap. Here, it would seem, use your ability to burp swallowed prey in order to free yourself from imprisonment! But for this, snakes, as it turned out, "are not smart enough."

Similar cases have already been described quite often.

If you didn’t already know, then the python is the largest snake on Earth, which, unlike its counterparts, does not kill its prey with poison. This large reptile, related to boas and anacondas, belongs to the family of pseudo-legged snakes and today 41 species of pythons are found in nature: hieroglyphic, royal, tiger, Indian, yellow, reticulated.

The python is inferior to the anaconda only in weight, the length of these reptiles can reach more than 10 meters, but most often there are pythons from 4 to 8 m long. The weight of a seven-meter python is about 70 kg. A python is an aggressive and large snake that attacks the victim, captures it in its “deadly embrace” and strangles it, and it can maintain its powerful grip for more than an hour.

Pythons live in tropical Australia, Africa and South Asia, in particular in marshy areas. In their natural habitat, pythons live only 10-15 years, and in a zoo they can live up to 25 years. The reasons are that young pythons are often preyed upon by other animals. Even an adult reptile can be attacked by a crocodile or leopard, and babies are food for large birds of prey, and sometimes wild pigs.

When the python senses danger, he crawls away, but if the attack was sudden, he desperately bites and hisses, inflicting serious wounds on the offender, although not fatal. When the royal python is in danger, it curls up into a strong tight ball, and hides its head inside. It seems to be a simple defense, but quite effective - try to unclench the muscular rings of his body! Even a human can't do it, let alone an animal. The python sheds 4 times a year.

What do pythons eat?

Pythons feed on frogs, rodents, small animals, but they can cope with fairly large animals - antelopes, crocodiles, monkeys, wild boars. For example, a python catches bats right in flight - for this, it clings with its tail to bumps in the ceiling and on the walls of caves. During the hunt, the python first watches over its prey, then makes a swift throw, wraps around its body and strangles it. Despite the massiveness of the body, it does not lose the mobility and flexibility required to strangle the animal.

Even a person can become the prey of a large python, and cases have been recorded in the world where the victims were children left unattended. The decisiveness and power of the reptile makes it a dangerous predator. Prey weighing 30 kilograms can be digested for up to 10 weeks, and during digestion, the python becomes clumsy and slow. Interestingly, in the cold season, the digestion of even relatively small prey can last as long as 33 days, and in the hot months, the whole process takes only 8 days. If the python has caught a large prey, he tries to retire to a quiet place where no one will disturb him.

How does a python hunt and get its own food?

The python has poor eyesight, but nature endowed it with heat-sensitive organs (thermal radars), which are located in the mouth area - this is how the reptile feels the approach of a warm-blooded animal, which will soon become prey. It is interesting that the python, attacking the prey, does not bite it, but works like a self-tightening knot, the so-called constrictor. To kill the victim, the python envelops it with powerful rings of its body and does not loosen its grip until the prey dies. The structure of the python's jaw seems to be specially designed for swallowing large prey: the lower jaw is attached to the upper one on ligaments that stretch perfectly for several tens of centimeters - which is why the python can even swallow a person. The lower jaw is fixed. If some fragments of prey could not be digested (fur, feathers), then the reptile simply burps them. If a python has swallowed a large prey that is digested for several months, then it will be enough for him to “lunch” like this only 3-4 times a year. Alabama biologists have done research looking at how the Burmese python digested the crocodile itself! Truly dramatic events immediately occur with the body of a python: the organs quickly change their functions and size, increasing the speed of work. For example, the kidneys of a reptile increase by 72%, the heart rate by 40%, the liver becomes twice as large, as is the pancreas. The small intestine is filled with a huge amount of powerful acids and enzymes, and the metabolism increases 40 times!

X-rays of the process of digestion of a crocodile by a python in 7 days

Digestion occurs at an unprecedented rate, and the pictures showed that the body of the crocodile literally dissolved inside the python in just three days! After 4 days, only the skeleton and rough skin remain from the alligator, which will move to the large intestine - in a week all the food will be digested without a trace.

Reproduction of pythons in the wild

Reproduction occurs only once a year, the male finds his wife by smell and proceeds to caresses, the so-called anal spurs (rudiments of the hind limbs). Interestingly, after mating, the python ceases to be interested in both the female and the offspring. When a female lays a clutch of 10 to 100 eggs, she coils around her, keeping her warm and protected from predators. Incubation lasts about 88 days, after which young pythons 60 cm in size are born, which are completely independent.

The female python is a very caring and attentive mother who carefully guards her future offspring and does not eat anything for 2-3 months.

1. An Indian python can lay up to 107 eggs at a time.
2. A case was recorded when a leopard was found in the stomach of a python, the size of which, for a minute, is 1.25 meters.
3. The python has no venom.
4. If the python is not provoked, it will not attack a person, despite its power and strength.
5. According to unconfirmed reports, a python lived in one zoo, the size of which was 12.2 meters - a record specimen of a reticulated python.
6. In Asia, python meat is eaten with pleasure.
7. An African python swallowed an adult man in 2008, and a ten-year-old child in 2002.
8. If it gets cold outside, the python can raise its own body temperature - this happens due to muscle contraction. The reptile is able to "warm up" itself 5-15 degrees above the environment.
9. Among the natives on the Guinean coast, the python-idol served as an object of reverence and worship.
10. Pythons enjoy swimming and can cover considerable distances.
11. The green python, moving the tip of the tail, resembling a worm, lures its prey.
12. The black-headed python feeds exclusively on monitor lizards and snakes. Despite the fact that the prey snake is deadly poisonous, its bite does not have the slightest effect on the python.
13. The price of a handbag made of python skin is more than $300.
14. The python has two lungs, like a human, although other snakes do not have a left lung.
15. Pythons can dive in water and climb trees very well.
16. For more than a year, a python may not eat.
17. Having wrapped the victim, the python easily breaks her bones.
18. There is such a type of hunting - catching "on live bait", when the hunter climbs into the hole of a python head first, and wraps his hand in a buffalo skin. The snake pounces on the protected hand, and with the other hand the hunter blocks his esophagus.

The longest python Medusa living in captivity

Did you know that the longest snake on Earth lives in captivity - her name is Medusa. The length of this giant, listed in the Guinness Book of Records, is 7.67 meters, and the weight has exceeded the mark of 158 kilograms. It takes at least fifteen people to hold this formidable handsome man in his hands, and he does not always like being touched by people. He needs more than 14 kilograms of animals per week, although a python can eat more rabbits, piglets, deer and rodents.

Several times the snake easily “dined” on the carcass of an animal weighing over 40 kilograms. The owner of Medusa himself claims that, and his pet can easily kill him if he is dissatisfied with something. But fear is a bad adviser when dealing with such large reptiles.

A python is a non-poisonous snake that belongs to the reptile class, the scaly order, the snake suborder, the python family (lat. Pythonidae). The article describes this family.

The word "python" came into Russian from Greek mythology. It comes from the name of the mythical Python, the monstrous snake of the underworld, killed by Apollo, the god of the sun.

Python - description and characteristics. What does a python look like?

Pythons are known as very large snakes, reaching up to 10 meters. According to some scientists, the reticulated python (lat. Malayopython reticulatus) is the longest snake in the world. The weight of large individuals can exceed 100 kg. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest and heaviest python living in captivity is the dark tiger python (lat. Python bivittatus) named Baby. Its weight is 182.8 kg. The longest python listed in the Guinness Book of Records is the reticulated python Samantha (lat. Python reticulatus) measuring 7.9 meters.

According to www.nationalgeographic.com, the common anaconda (lat. Eunectes murinus) can be up to 9.1 meters long and weigh 249 kilograms. considered the heaviest snake in the world, but is second only to pythons in terms of size. True, Soviet biologists (Akimushkin I., Zenkevich L.A. and others) can argue on this score, noting that the longest caught anaconda reached 11.43 meters.

The smallest representative of the python family is the small spotted python living in Australia (lat. Antaresia perthensis, syn. Bothrochilus perthensis), which grows only up to 30-50 cm in length. An adult reptile weighs only 200 grams. Newborn snakes of this species reach a length of 17 cm and have a mass of 4 g.

Representatives of the family do not have massive bones, so the body of reptiles consists mainly of muscles. Their strength is such that large pythons easily break bones, for example, a crocodile or a leopard.

The body of the snake is slightly compressed from the sides, while the head of the python is clearly separated. The pupils of pythons are vertical.

The premaxillae have teeth. The palatine bone in some species is toothless (for example, in black-headed pythons), in others it has teeth, the number of which reaches a hundred. The teeth of pythons are directed backwards, there are 4 rows of teeth on the upper jaw, 2 rows on the lower jaw. There are no poisonous glands in members of the family.

Pythons have a good sense of smell. On the upper and lower labials of many species there are 2-4 pits located in front of the muzzle. These are some kind of thermostats. With their help, pythons capture the infrared radiation of warm-blooded animals and can hunt using only these organs.

Black-headed pythons do not have thermolocators.

Representatives of the family have developed both lungs, which are not the same in size. On both sides of the anus of reptiles there are small keratinized claws, slightly protruding above the scales - these are rudiments of the pelvic bones, called false legs. They are more developed in males than in females. By their size, you can determine the sex of the snake.

The color of the representatives of the family is very beautiful and diverse. There are species that are more or less uniformly colored, for example, the olive python. But, basically, the skin of pythons is decorated with stripes, spots, specks or fancy patterns. This is evidenced by the names of the species: carpet, hieroglyphic, tiger, reticulated. There are a variety of colors in the color: red, green, white, yellow, fawn, black, brown, cream, olive, orange and others. There is a skin with iridescent tints, as, for example, in a reticulated python.

Among pythons, there are albinos with light or white skin, red eyes and a pink tongue. It is difficult for such reptiles to survive in nature: they have no disguise, they can be seen from afar, and they easily become prey to predators.

Albinos are often found in zoos and terrariums.

In captivity, due to long-term breeding work, numerous morphological changes in the colors of the skin of pythons were obtained, which was the result of genetic mutations. For example, the royal python has a huge number of morphs.

The colors of captive-bred snakes are white, yellow, gray, brown, black, reddish, and the spots have a different shape. Some morphs do not have spots at all: instead, stripes are present on the skin of a python.

Royal python morphs: 1. Reduced Pattern Banana Clown; 2. Spider Clown 3.White Wedding; 4. Banana. Taken from: www.morphmarket.com

Is python dangerous to humans?

Existing rumors of pythons attacking people are exaggerated, although several cases are officially recognized when a fourteen-year-old boy and an adult woman became victims of pythons. The reticulated python can be considered potentially dangerous, since the recorded cases of attacks on people are related to this particular snake. But even this python can be more dangerous for a child or teenager than for an adult, since the maximum weight of its prey does not exceed 15 kg. Basically, these large snakes prefer to avoid people and are content only with the kidnapping of pets.

Where do pythons live?

Pythons live mainly only in the Eastern Hemisphere. They are common:

• in Africa: in countries located south of the Sahara;
• in Asia in the south and southeast of the mainland (India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Brunei, Bangladesh, southern China) and island states (Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Papua -New Guinea, East Timor);
• in Australia,
• some species of pythons have been introduced to the USA: for example, in the 80s of the XX century, dark tiger pythons (lat. Python bivittatus) were first seen in the Everglades National Park in South Florida. In the 2000s, it was officially recognized that snakes successfully breed and increase their numbers in this area.

Python habitats are located near water bodies. Snakes are found both in mountainous areas (up to 2000 m above sea level) and on plains, they feel good in tropical rainforests and in light forests of arid zones. Some species live almost permanently in trees, others mostly crawl on the ground.

What do pythons eat?

Pythons eat various mammals: ungulates (, muntjacs, etc.), rodents (,), (macaques, langurs, etc.), feast on livestock (goats,) and. Also, snakes catch birds (, pheasants,), including domestic ones (, chickens). The diet of these reptiles includes reptiles (, others, including pythons) and amphibians (,). Species living in Australia eat marsupials.

The python strangles its victims, and then swallows it whole. Due to the extensibility of the mouth and integuments of the body, pythons can swallow prey, which is 2-3 times the thickness of their body. But even this ability has its limits. The largest animals that a huge ten-meter snake can swallow are the size of a pig or roe deer, but not or.

The weight of food absorbed by a snake in a year does not exceed its own. After each "dinner" the python fasts for a long time: for weeks or even months. In the zoo, these giants sometimes starved up to 2 years.

Pythons are nocturnal. At dusk, these snakes see much better than during the day. Hunting in the cool of the night, they feel the heat radiation coming from animals much more strongly. Usually the python attacks the victim from an ambush, making a sharp throw in its direction and throwing out a third of the body. Then the snake strangles the helpless prey, sweeping it with 2-3 coils and additionally clinging to it with its teeth. With an unsuccessful throw, the python will wait for a new victim: the snake crawls rather slowly, so that the prey may well run away from it. If the python has eaten, he generally does not pay attention to nearby living beings. But if he is hungry, his blood composition changes, which affects the nervous system and causes an attack reflex. Attacking, the python strangles the victim; defending himself, he only bites. Most young pythons easily climb trees, overtaking prey among the branches or rushing at it from a height. It is harder for adults and large individuals to climb a tree, so they hunt on the ground.

Pythons love water and can lie in it for a long time. Some individuals swim across rivers and even sea straits. Photo by: Paul Asman and Jill Lenoble, CC BY-SA 3.0

How long does a python live?

The life span of pythons in nature varies depending on the species. In zoos, they live for about 20-30 years.

Types of pythons, names and photos

Below is a description of several varieties of pythons.

• Royal python (ball python, ball python) (lat.Python regius) has a small size, reaching no more than 1.82 meters in length. The average length of males is 0.9-1.07 m, females - 1.22-1.37 m. The body of the reptile is dense and thick. The head is broad and flattened. The tail is short. In nature, the royal python has a spotted body color, which is an alternation of dark brown and light brown or golden spots. Sometimes the spots are separated by a thin white border. On the head of the python, on top, there is a dark triangular spot, and on its sides there are dark stripes separated by a narrow yellow stripe. The abdomen is usually creamy white with scattered spots. In addition, there are numerous morphs of the royal python, which differ in color.

The ball python got its middle name because of the ability to curl up into a tight ball at the moment of danger, sticking its head inside. Thus, the snake takes the form of a ball, which even a person is not able to unfold. The reptile is nocturnal. The python feeds on small mammals (rats, shrews, African striped mice), sometimes it eats birds. The snake knows how to climb trees well and lies in wait for prey, hiding on the branches and hanging down the front of the body. Bathing in warm water gives the reptile pleasure.

The royal python mates from June to November. Pregnancy lasts from 120 to 140 days. The female lays 4-10 white eggs 75-80x55-60 mm in size. Incubation continues for 68-70 days. Hatched snakes have a body size of 43 cm and a weight of 47 g.

The royal python lives in the equatorial forests of West and Central Africa. Habitat covers the following countries: Senegal, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau, Republic of Guinea, Republic of Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Niger, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo , Mali, Uganda, Sudan. Representatives of this species can often be seen in zoos. They breed well in captivity.

• Tiger python (lat.Python molurus), presumably has 2 subspecies:
  • Light tiger python, or Indian python (lat. Python molurus molurus),
  • Ceylon tiger python (lat.Pythonmolurus pimbura).

There is an opinion that the second subspecies is not a subspecies, but simply a local island form, which is smaller in size. The third subspecies was the dark tiger python (lat. Python bivittatus), but then it was separated into an independent species.

Tiger pythons usually reach a length of 3 meters. The maximum length is 4.6 meters. The color of the snake is spotty: red-brown or brown-red spots are located against the background of yellow tones. Sometimes albino tiger pythons are born, the white body of which is covered with large and small yellow spots.

The habitat of the tiger python is India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Myanmar, Vietnam. Reptiles are found in all landscapes of the range: in tropical and foothill forests, on plains with sparse vegetation, in mountainous areas among stones overgrown with shrubs, rising up to 2000 meters above sea level. Snakes prefer to be near water bodies, climb trees perfectly. Tiger pythons feed on monkeys, various rodents and small ungulates. Birds like pigeons, pheasants, ducks. The remains of jackals and even leopards were found in the stomachs of these reptiles. Females incubate the clutch, which can contain up to 100 eggs, without leaving it and not eating for two months. Then babies appear 50-60 cm long.

Tiger pythons are large, calm, peaceful snakes. They are kept and bred in many zoos around the world and on special farms. In the homeland of tiger pythons, they are eaten, their skin is used to make shoes and clothes. Reptiles are also kept as pets. They kill rats and mice just as well. Tiger pythons breed well in captivity: this gives hope that it is possible to restore their population, which has been noticeably reduced as a result of human activities.

• reticulated python(lat.Malayopython reticulatus) - This is the longest python in the world, reaching 10 meters. It has 4 upper labials, 297-330 ventral scutes and 78-102 pairs of subcaudal scutes. The back of the reptile is covered with light brown spots in the form of a rhombus with rounded corners, on the sides there are dark brown triangles with a light center. The skin of the reptile has iridescent tints.

The reticulated python is found in Indonesia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, India, Malaysia, East Timor, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam. Prefers moist forests. On the island of Java, it occurs in the mountains up to 1200 m, but usually does not rise high in the mountains. The reptile loves moist forests and climbs trees well. Pythons are excellent swimmers and are not bothered by salt water. Some individuals go on sea voyages on their own or on snags or trees: this is how these snakes settled on the small islands of the Sunda archipelago. Reptiles can be found near human habitation, they crawl into courtyards or settle along the banks of rivers in large cities.

Reticulated pythons eat birds, reptiles, mammals, attack domestic animals and birds: dogs, pigs, goats, chickens.

Females lay, on average, 50 eggs, but sometimes there can be 100 of them. Snakes incubate eggs, warming them with their bodies up to 80-82 days. The hatched python cubs reach 60 cm in length.

The reticulated python is an object of fishing for the population of the countries in which it lives. This snake is used for food. In zoos, the python takes root and breeds well, but at the same time it has a quarrelsome character: it can bite even a person who constantly cares for it.

The longest python in the world is the reticulated python (lat. Malayopython reticulatus). Photo credit: Kaushik Parui, CC BY-SA 4.0

• Green python (tree python) (lat.Morelia viridis) - a small snake with a body slightly flattened laterally, from 1.5 to 1.8 meters long. Rarely grows up to 2 meters. The neck of the reptile is rather thin, the tail is very tenacious. The tree python has strongly elongated front teeth with which it holds prey caught above the ground. The color corresponds to the name of the snake: bright green with small white spots along the ridge. Blue specimens are rare. Young tree pythons are also covered with white spots, but the background can be of different shades: bright yellow, bright red, brown with a white pattern.

The second name of the snake indicates its lifestyle, since the reptile lives mainly on trees in tropical rainforests.

The green tree python eats small mammals and birds. The food of young individuals is made up of frogs and small lizards. When hunting, the python uses the bright tip of its own tail as bait.

Green tree pythons breed from May to July. The female incubates the clutch for 50-60 days.

The habitat of pythons covers New Guinea, Indonesia, Australia, Gag Island. The snake is used by the local population in rituals and festive rituals.

• Carpet python (carpet snake, rhombic python) (lat.Morelia spilota) It has several subspecies, which range in color from olive green to black with patches of white, cream, and gold.

There are various subspecies of carpet pythons in parts of Australia, as well as in New Guinea. In the east and north of the mainland, the snake lives in humid forests, hiding among the branches of trees. In the central part of Australia, reptiles are found in desert areas, lead a terrestrial lifestyle and occupy the burrows of various animals.

The python feeds on mammals, less often birds and reptiles. Active at night. Females lay 25-40 eggs and incubate them for 2-2.5 months. Carpet pythons are protected in national parks and reserves.

• Rhombic Python Bradley (lat.Morelia bredli) - a species that lives in the northern territory of Australia.

The maximum length of a python reaches 3 meters. The snake has several names: Central python, Central carpet python, Bradley carpet python. The body of the reptile is reddish in color with a pattern of beige, cream or yellow spots surrounded by light gray and dark stripes. The dark pattern intensifies towards the back of the body. The belly of a python is light cream or yellowish in color.

The reptile lives on rocky areas, meeting both on the ground and on trees or shrubs.

• Australian ramsey python(lat. Aspidites ramsayi) lives in the west and southwest of Australia, as well as in the central part. Lives in arid regions, found among forests and thickets.

The length of the python is 1.5-2.7 m. The snake is active at night. The color of the reptile is yellowish-brown, darker on the back, with frequent brown-red stripes across the body. The head is reddish.

The python, like other species of the family, feeds on mammals, reptiles, and birds.

• Hieroglyphic python (rock python)(lat. python sebae) has an average length of 3-5 m and a weight of 44-55 kg, 269-286 ventral and 63-77 pairs of undercaudal shields. Some individuals, growing up, can reach 6-7.5 meters in length and weigh almost 100 kg. A case is reliably known when a hieroglyphic python measuring 9.81 m was found. The snake got its name because of the bizarre coloring: its skin seems to be dotted with hieroglyphs, which allows it to perfectly camouflage in the grass. On the head of the python, on top, there is a dark triangle, and dark stripes are located on its sides.

This African resident is common in countries such as Senegal, Gambia, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Cameroon, Mali, Niger , Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Rwanda, Tanzania, Angola, Somalia, Burundi, Gabon, Eritrea. The hieroglyphic python is nocturnal, preying on birds, large rodents, small antelopes. Inhabits savannahs, woodlands, thickets of bushes, rocky ridges. In some places in Africa, the python is destroyed for meat and skins, while in others it is worshiped and temples are built.

During the breeding season, females lay 50-100 eggs. The incubation period lasts 2-3 months. Newborn python cubs are 70 cm long. Young pythons become sexually mature in the fifth or sixth year of life, upon reaching 3 m in length.

For a person, a hieroglyphic python is not dangerous: it can attack a person and injure him with sharp teeth only during self-defense, but not for hunting purposes. Usually, at the sight of a person, a python hides or crawls away. In captivity, a non-venomous snake easily gets used to people, behaves calmly and breeds well.

• short-tailed red python(lat.python brongersmai) - a rare snake common in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Sumatra (in Indonesia).

The length of males is usually 0.91-1.52 m, the length of females varies from 1.2 to 1.8 m. The largest individuals grew up to 2.4 meters in length. The weight of females can reach 22 kg. The color of a massive and inactive snake is red-orange with yellowish-brown spots or stripes, there are silver and black spots and lines on the sides. Some individuals have a gray coloration with fawn and brown markings.

Pythons live in wet and swampy places, along the banks of water bodies. They spend a lot of time in the water and are nocturnal.

Short-tailed red pythons eat small mammals and birds. These snakes do not like to actively hunt, so they usually wait for random prey.

The red python is oviparous, females lay 8-16 eggs, which are incubated for 70-75 days at a temperature of 30-32°C. In captivity, the reptile breeds extremely rarely.

• Large water python (lat. Liasis papuana, formerly -Morelia maxima) - a rare species that is found in New Guinea and Indonesia (Misool and Ferguson Islands).

The size of the reptile varies from 1.5 to 4 m. The maximum length is 4.78 m. The weight of the python can reach 22.5 kg. The color is solid olive or light brown. Some individuals have a darker back, brown-yellow sides and a grayish-brown head. Juveniles are darker in color.

The water python feeds on small mammals, snakes, including other types of pythons. The snake is hunted by crocodile monitor lizards.

• White-lipped python (lat.Bothrochilus albertisii) grows up to 2-3 m in length. It got its name from the white stripes on the lips. The back of the snake is colored dark brown, the sides are yellowish, the head is black, the abdomen and throat are white.

The python's diet includes small mammals and birds.

During the breeding season, the snake lays 10-18 eggs. Mating takes place in July-September, and egg-laying in September-November, that is, incubation lasts 60-70 days.

The white-lipped python lives in New Guinea, islands in the north of Australia and on some islands of Indonesia. Prefers to settle in the forests.

• Black-headed python (lat.Aspidites melanocephalus) - a rare species of dark brown with black stripes on the back and yellow markings on the sides. The head is shiny black. The size of a python varies from 1.5 to 2.5 m.

The snake lives in Australia (in the northeast, north and west of the mainland), in coastal forest and shrub thickets. It is active at dusk and at night.

Females lay eggs in July-August in the amount of 7-9 pieces.

The diet of the python is mainly composed of other reptiles. Its diet includes such dangerous venomous snakes as the tiger snake and the Australian black snake. The black-headed python is not afraid of their bite and can swallow a reptile almost equal in size to it.