49-FOOT DOG-EATING SNAKE MAY BE THE WORLD'S BIGGEST

The Houston Chronicle (Associated Press) ^ | 31 December 2003

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Indonesian villagers claim to have captured a python that is almost 49 feet long and weighs nearly 990 pounds, a local official said. If confirmed, it would be the largest snake ever kept in captivity. Hundreds of people have flocked to see the snake at a primitive zoo in Curugsewu village on the country's main island of Java.

Local government official Rachmat said the reticulated python measured 48 feet 8 inches and weighed in at 983 pounds. The Guinness Book of World Records lists the longest ever captured snake to be 32 feet. The heaviest -- a Burmese Python kept in Gurnee, Ill. -- weighs 402 pounds, the book said on its Web site. The Indonesian newspaper Republika said the snake, which was caught last year but only recently put on public display, eats three or four dogs a month.

Reticulated pythons are the world's longest snakes. They are capable of eating animals as large as sheep, and have been known to attack and consume humans. The species is native to the swamps and jungles of Southeast Asia.

[NorseWood]

That giant snake excaped from its cage . . . Mighty Python and the Holy Jail

[Andyman]

My mother woke up from a nap and sleeping next to her was such a snake. They are very dangerous, but rather timid. The one next to my mother was particularly timid after she cut it in two with a machete.

This was in Malaysia.

[djf]

Thanks! Now I got coffee on my keyboard!

[EagleMamaMT]

Bump.

[smiley]

(((((shudder)))))....Indiana Jones and me have something in common....we both hate snakes!....

[reed_inthe_wind]

I went through some brutal chemotherapy and for a long time after every headline was a puzzle that made no sense. By chance, are you taking any medicine.

[Conspiracy Guy]

No I just drink too much hic.

[Godfollow]

Poor perspective pic if trying to show size of "big snake".

[F14 Pilot]

Mmmm, FuNnY PiCtUre~!

[the invisib1e hand]

someone posted a picture here a few years ago of a snake inside of which was the body of a young man.

/gag

[appalachian_dweller]

ROTFL!!!

The look on ED's face is priceless!! Best laugh I've had in days. Thanks!

I owned a Burmese Python when I was a kid. Bought it when it was just 18 inches long. Kept it for 2 years. Really cool critter. My parents made me sell it when it reached 14 feet. It was a very docile snake, not aggressive at all, except when it came to feeding time. Some of my more morbid friends would want to watch it eat. Problem was, when too many people were around the snake would get nervous and not eat.

I still miss it.

[Sabertooth]

Here's another article and pic...

The longest snake in the world
by RICHARD SHEARS, Daily Mail
30th December 2003

t almost twice the length of a London bus, this python can justly lay claim to being the world's longest snake.

It measures just short of 50ft and weighs an astonishing 70 stone - also a record.

The previous longest specimen recorded by Guinness World Records - which was also a reticulated python - came in at 32ft when it was captured in 1912.

Record: the world's longest
snake found in south east Asia.

---

Both snakes were found in Indonesia and are native to the swamps and jungles of South-East Asia.

They are capable of eating animals as large as sheep and have been known to attack and eat people-

The 50ft monster was captured by a team of villagers, terrified about the threat it posed to their community, who jumped on it, tied it up and put it in a makeshift cage.

The creature, which has been named Fragrant Flower, is now drawing big crowds to a primitive zoo at Curugsewu, on the main Indonesian island of Java.

Although it is rare for humans to be eaten by pythons, two Indonesian children have been swallowed in recent times. And last week a Thai man almost died when a python wrapped itself around him and started eating him, arm first.

Armed with 100 teeth, the python grabs victims in its mouth then uses its massive body to squeeze them to death. It swallows its prey whole, digesting an entire animal such as a dog or a sheep in one piece.

Pythons more than 25ft long can open their jaws wider than a human's shoulders and therefore are able to eat a man whole.

A local government official in Curugsewu said of the village's prize attraction: "It's a beautiful creature but very frightening.

"You would not want to be caught up in a fight to the death with this one because the snake would definitely win."

Reticulated pythons can make their homes in holes, caves or trees, usually in rainforests or bushland near streams and lakes.

But they also lurk on the outskirts of villages where they have been known to hunt chickens, cats, pigs and dogs and even bigger prey such as monkeys and deer.

Fragrant Flower is being fed on stray dogs which are killed before they are put in its cage. It gets through three or four a month.

The reticulated python gets its name from the criss-cross pattern of its scales, the word reticulate meaning a network of lines. Zoologists say they are intelligent but unpredictable creatures.

They can be very placid and then suddenly strike with a devastating bite that can sever arteries and tendons.

Its only rival in size is the South American anaconda, which is sometimes heavier but not longer.

The previous heaviest snake recorded was a female anaconda, which was shot in Brazil in 1960 and weighed more than 35st.

link

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Thanks for the post. Nice angle on photograph. It would be nice to have a photograph showing a person or something for reference next to it. However, probably hard to find a volunteer. LOL.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

No, per grammar rules, the fact that it is correctly written "dog-eating snake" instead of "dog eating snake" draws the distinction between the two meanings. If the hyphen were left out, it would indeed have been a large dog...a VERY large dog. Now, I would also like to watch a 49-foot dog eating a snake. That would be worth the ticket price.

[Conspiracy Guy]

Yes it is written correctly. But if I pay attention to that I can't make stupid remarks : )

[biffalobull]

It's not bigger than this snake:

TRUE, but probably a whole lot better looking.

[OESY]

[ASA Vet]

The Banded Krait, a cousin of our coral snake, isn't all that big.
It is capable of injecting venom only in very thin parts
of the body, ie: the area (webbing) between fingers.
It's extremely toxic venom, but very few people have very been biten by one.
I have played with them. The cool thing about a Krait is that
it will flaten it's tail and raise it, (like a cobra head.)

Russells Viper is the snake known by Viet Vets as the "2 step" or "3 step." It's a much larger snake.

[reed_inthe_wind]

So do I - but I liked blaming it on the chemo.

[ConservativeMan55]

State budgets gain wiggle room.