Husband. Dad to 5. Student Ministry Pastor. Follower of Jesus. Yatta yatta.

CHEW FIRST

Reason number 1001 why I do not recommend swallowing your food whole. Here’s a hysterical article from the boston globe. By Denise Kalette, Associated Press Writer | October 6, 2005

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.'”

Comments

  1. Dude i was sitting at my computer for like a whole minute straight trying to figure out what the picture was. Eww! That’s nasty.

  2. remember that time when patrick and i were having that twinkie eating contest and christina totally started to choke on one and i turned her around and almost gave her the heimlich right before she coughed it up? yeah, that was pretty awesome. kinda like the python, ‘cept she didn’t burst. that would have sucked.

  3. I remember. There’s a lot that fat kid and deafy did that make me smile. Those were good times. thanks for being willing to save bucks life and risk the burst factor.

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