Red-Tail Boa
Posted on 06/13/2010 10:58:58 AM PDT by JoeProBono
Mother Nature has a wrath like no other.
A Nebraska man was strangled to death by his pet boa constrictor while showing the snake to a friend, police reported on Thursday.
Cory Byrne was pronounced dead Wednesday after police and paramedics loosened the 9-foot, 25-pound snake's deadly squeeze, said police.
The Nebraska Humane Society in Omaha, which currently has custody of the red-tailed constrictor, has not been able to determine what prompted the attack.
The boa seemed to be well-fed, according to the Humane Society's spokesman, Mark Langan.
"The sad reality is, whether it's a dog or a cat or snake, no matter how much you trust an animal, they react unpredictably in certain situations," Langan said. "Once a snake clamps down like that, they're extremely strong. It would have been very difficult for one person to remove that snake."
Langan added that, as far as he knows, this is the first fatality from a pet snake in Nebraska.
While the Humane Society of the United States claims that at least 13 people have been killed by pet pythons in the U.S. since 1980, this may be the first time anyone has been slain by a pet boa constrictor, said Beth Preiss, the society's captive wildlife regulation expert.
The ownerless-boa will stay in the Nebraska Humane Society's care until it can be placed in a zoo or sanctuary.
Red-Tail Boa
Wow at least that kid is not trying to sail around the world so he is nice and safe
Couldn’t the “friend” grab a knife ?
Publicity hound — just gotta be first.
So Chet 99 didn’t post this? Because it’s not about a Pit Bull, right?
He’s so fixated on Pit Bulls that he’ll probably be injured by some animal he thinks can’t hurt him. . . an armadillo or an opossum or a raccoon, perhaps.
Snakes can have a “bad day” too! One of these get into my house, it’s dead. I sure as heck wouldn’t bring one in.
Sister Of Man Killed By Snake Speaks Out
Papillion, NE - The nine-foot, 25-pound boa constrictor that squeezed the life out of 35-year-old Cory Byrne also changed the lives of his family. Cory’s sister Kayla spoke to him in the hospital just before he died. “Still feels like a bad dream,” said Kayla Byrne. She promised that she would watch his children and then told Cory, she loved him.
Kayla tells Action 3 News Cory was just with her at their parent’s house on Sunday. He showed them where his snake bit him on the arm. The family told Cory they didn’t want that snake around him anymore. “Just told him to get rid of the darn thing,” said Kayla Byrne.
Friends and co-workers of Cory are also feeling the pain of loss. Debby Clark not only lived next door to him, but also worked with Cory at a local McDonalds and says they were friends. The news of his death hit her hard. “I couldn’t even sleep. Just trying to get the picture out of my head of what actually happened,” said Clark.
Kayla described what happened to her brother when the snake wrapped itself around his neck. She tells Action 3 News, Wednesday night he was showing the snake to a friend in his downtown apartment when it hissed. He quickly tried to take it off his shoulders to put it back in the cage and that’s when it got scared and naturally reacted by wrapping itself around Cory’s neck.
Never underestimate the damage a raccoon can cause.I’ve seen ‘em stand off a 100 pound dog.
Yeah, where is Chettlie? We need more posts about snakes.
Two of my current favorites are the Mamushi and Yamakagashi. We have very
few venomous snakes here, but its great to find them. I was fortunate enough to find a 2 meter common rat snake at Inokashira park last summer.
You play with fire, you get burned. Some people just learn it the hard way.
Must have been a stupid dog. My dogs wouldn’t ever go near one. They’ll go after ground hogs which are as big but are prey animals.
And on the subject of the snake, all his friend had to do was kill the snake - maybe by cutting off the head for crying out loud.
You know, I've been wondering to get my mother-in-law for her next birthday...
Regards,
Darwin smiles.
For the life of me I could never see why people would want to keep predatory reptiles as pets.
A fruit eating iguana maybe, but a python or a monitor lizard??
That snake was pissed off for having to live in cold-ass Nebraska
“Byrne, 34, was critically injured while showing his pet snake to a female friend in his apartment at 635 S. Washington St. The snake, estimated by authorities to be 9 feet long, wrapped around Byrne’s neck and began strangling him.
Byrne’s roommate, Bryan Leibert, said he got a call from the woman at the apartment. When he and his girlfriend, Allie Arrigo, got there they found Byrne on the living room floor, the boa constrictor wrapped around his neck. They said police and paramedics arrived a short time later.
“He wasn’t breathing, and his face was purple,” Arrigo said. “I was just in shock.....”
http://www.omaha.com/article/20100611/NEWS01/706119881
Playing with your snake can be hazardous to your health.
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