If you think swallowing a handful of vitamins is
uncomfortable, check out this python.
That's one hungry serpent.
Pythons can swallow their prey whole, no matter its size.
Well, that's disturbing.
If you have ophidiophobia, aka the fear of snakes,
you might want to close your eyes and listen.
Pythons live across Africa, Asia and Australia.
Though they are not indigenous to North America,
invasive species now live in Florida's Everglades.
Have fun Floridians.
They prefer warm, humid climates, but they will inhabit
a range of environments ranging
from rainforests and swamps to dunes.
There are about 40 species of pythons.
Smaller species, like the anthill python,
measure about 61 cm (24 in) long.
But the longest ever recorded was a reticulated python
that measured 10 m (33 ft).
That's longer than a stretch limousine.
No, thank you.
Pythons are ambush predators.
While smaller pythons like the ball python
feed on small rodents, lizards and birds,
larger species eat monkeys, antelopes and pigs.
Pythons use their fangs to latch onto their prey's neck
and shoulder region.
Since these snakes are not venomous,
they use constriction to kill by coilingand around their
victims until they stop breathing.
A python can sense its prey's heartbeat, once it stops,
the snake stops squeezing. This is when things get freaky.
When an animal dies, bacteria will make its body expand.
Then it's even more difficult for the python to swallow
its prey, so the snake must eat it as fast as possible.
The story that pythons dislocate their jaws when they
swallow their dinner
is a myth.
The truth is that their jaws have
evolved flexible ligaments. So these snakes
can open their mouths wider than their bodies
and swallow prey as large as alligators.
They've even been bold enough to attack big cats.
In 2019, visitors on a safari saw
a giant python attacking a leopard in Kenya.
Both predators had been stalking an impala,
but the python decided to take a chance
on the unsuspecting leopard.
While the python did its darndest
to constrict the leopard, the feline
wriggled free from its grasp.
While pythons have teeth that they use to bite,
they don't use them for chewing.
Instead, they rely on digestive enzymes
to break down their food.
And depending on the temperature of their
surroundings and the size of the prey, it can take weeks
just to digest one meal.
During this time, they are
bloated, sluggish and vulnerable
Again, like me at Thanksgiving.
But the caloric intake of that meal
is worth the risk to the insatiable python.
Although animals get fully swallowed,
the python can still be vulnerable to attack.
In 2005, rangers found a dead python
with an alligator's tail bursting from its midsection.
Scientists thought the alligator may have clawed its
way out of the python's stomach.
Geez. Nature is so hardcore.
As you've probably guessed,
if pythons can swallow alligators,
they can swallow humans, too.
Though it's rare, I'm sorry to say it does happen.
In 2018, an Indonesian woman went missing.
She was last seen in her vegetable garden.
A day later, a search party found her
sandals and machete, and about 30 m (98 ft)
away was a giant, bloated reticulated python.
They killed the snake.
When they cut it open,
they found the woman's body inside.
Okay, that's terrifying.
Regardless of their human-eating reputations,
people still keep pythons as pets.
You can find a ball python at almost
any standard pet store, like Petco.
decide to get one, do your research first.
Many people who buy a small python
don't realize how big it will grow.
Often, when these owners no longer want to care for their
pets, they release their pythons into the wild.
This has caused a major ecological imbalance
in places like the Everglades.
The snakes become apex predators and
disrupt the food chain.
In 2021, the state of Florida organized
The Python Challenge event, and participants were
encouraged to find and humanely kill
Burmese pythons for cash prizes
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission, these snakes threaten human safety.
It may sound cruel, but this is an unfortunate consequence
of introducing an invasive species into an ecosystem.
Often it's due to the exotic pet trade
Sometimes it’s best for wild animals
to stay in the wild.
But pythons aren't the only reptiles
clashing with humans.
See how a Florida man catches an alligator with a trash can
on another episode of Crazy Creatures.