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The bear that recently killed a caretaker in a Cleveland suburb was the latest example of animal violence in a state that has some of the nation's weakest restrictions on exotic pets and among the highest number of injuries and deaths caused by them. The death in Ohio and attacks elsewhere - including the maiming of a Connecticut woman by her friend's pet chimpanzee and a 2-year-old Florida girl squeezed to death by her family's python - highlight that the patchwork of federal, state and local laws on keeping dangerous wild animals at home has holes. After a friend's 200-pound...

ITALIAN police were stunned to find a hissing python guarding a stash of cocaine as they swooped on a Rome drug den. The 3m reptile had been deliberately starved to make it all the more aggressive...Officers placated the rare albino python by feeding it a whole chicken

Snakes on a plane may just be the stuff of daft action movies, but maggots on a plane are, it seems, all too real a threat. Maggots wriggling from a container of rotten meat forced a U.S. Airways flight to abort take-off and return to the gate in Atlanta, Georgia earlier this week. Passenger Donna Adamo said that she noticed a couple of flies buzzing around on the Monday flight when she got to her seat but didn't think much of it. Then, as the plane was taxiing, she heard a passenger behind her causing a commotion and refusing to...

Prepare yourself for ... "Mega Python vs. Gatoroid"! The Hollywood Reporter reveals that 1980s pop stars Deborah "Debbie" Gibson and Tiffany will star together in the Syfy original Saturday night movie. This is the first time the duo will appear in a film together. Gibson will play an animal rights activist who specializes in freeing — what else? — exotic snakes from pet stores and setting them loose in the Everglades, where they, of course, grow to enormous sizes. Tiffany is set for the role of a park ranger who "uses dangerous methods to save endangered alligators." The script reportedly...

Saying it hurt worse than falling off a bike, 7-year-old Michael Harris has plans for the snake that bit his heel. "Jumped out and just snapped my foot," said Harris. The bite only lasted a moment, but Harris says the venom put him in pain. "It kind of (felt) like it's still biting you over and over," said Harris. "I couldn't keep my eyes open, I kept throwing up," said Harris. "I mostly couldn't breathe a lot." Harris blames his sandals for putting him in the hospital. "If I had my tennis shoes, I wouldn't be here right now," said...

Burmese pythons a no-go in Sunshine StateGov. Charlie Crist has signed bills banning the ownership of Burmese pythons and other reptiles and requiring tracking of over-the-counter ephedrine sales. The reptile bill (SB 318) signed Thursday prohibits importation and personal ownership of seven nonnative species. They've become a problem in the wild when they escape or are released and one killed a child last year in Sumter County. The ephedrine law (SB 1050) is designed to help catch those who use of the substance for making illegal methamphetamine. Crist also signed bills loosening Florida seaport regulations so they'll be more competitive...

ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) -- Police in South Carolina say an argument between two motel guests ended when one of the men was hit in the head with a snake. Rock Hill police say the victim told officers that he argued Tuesday night with 29-year-old Tony Smith over loud music coming from Smith's room.

No WAY is Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis going to be the only one to answer for the acquisition of crappy Merrill Lynch and its crappy bonuses, "a person close to Lewis's defense team" (who may or may not be Ken Lewis himself) tells Charlie Gasparino today on the Daily Beast. NO WAY will he be a scapegoat, alone, for the people who twisted his arm to go through with the Merrill deal by telling him he would be fired if he didn't. "If this thing goes to trial you can expect both Paulson and Bernanke to be on...

Snakes alive! Photographer Nick Knight whips up a real herpetology-inspired visual treat for the provocatively-envisioned Alexander McQueen S/S 2010 ad campaign, featuring a snakeskin-camouflaged Raquel Zimmermann under a heap of slithering serpents. By the looks of them, they seem to be boa constrictors with a reticulated python or two tossed in for good measure. Whatever the case, the Brazilian supermodel is a good sport, as many women would run away screaming from the deluge of icky reptiles. (Image at original site may be to scary for Freeper Women, thus could not post it.)

Snake Oil (third item) Things are politically charged even among snakes. The U.S. Association of Reptile Keepers is "suspicious" over the sudden, much publicized appearance of a 12-foot Burmese python near Tampa, Fla., just as "python ban" legislation goes for a full vote before the U.S. Senate. The group believes the snake was deliberately let loose by animal rights advocates to sway public opinion - and are offering a fat reward for information about the release, which they say is illegal.

In a situation that most any conservatives can relate to, a stupid Reporter and his Guide catches an anaconda snake off guard. Well they decide to harass the snake and play with him for a few minutes before tossing him like garbage, away from the camp. Remind you of the way the drive-by media treats conservatives? Well, that's the first thing I thought of when I watched it. Anyway, after a little while the Guide hears the reporter screaming for help. So he rushes to where the Reporter is and finds him under attack from the angry anaconda that tracked...

In a situation that most any conservatives can relate to, a stupid Reporter and his Guide catches an anaconda snake off guard. Well they decide to harass the snake and play with him for a few minutes before tossing him like garbage, away from the camp. Remind you of the way the drive-by media treats conservatives? Well, that's the first thing I thought of when I watched it. Anyway, after a little while the Guide hears the reporter screaming for help. So he rushes to where the Reporter is and finds him under attack from the angry anaconda that tracked...

The Great Health Care Debate of 2009 is underway on the Senate floor, and it took just a scant few minutes for the partisan skirmishing to begin in full force. The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, wasted no time in laying a little legislative trap for Senator Michael B. Enzi, of Wyoming, who for the moment is piloting the Republican efforts on the Senate floor. Mr. Reid in an opening gambit asked for unanimous consent of all senators that any surpluses generated by the health care bill in the Social Security Trust Fund or in a new...

CUSTOMS officials in Norway say they had arrested a man who tried to illegally import 14 snakes and 10 lizards into the country by taping the reptiles to his body. The snakes, king pythons that are large in size but not venomous, were rolled up in socks and taped to the man's torso, while the geckos were found in small boxes taped to his legs. The unusual load was discovered during a body search after customs officials found a tarantula in the man's luggage.

In the world wide web and in the publishing world, there are conspiracy theories going about concerning topics from the Kennedy assassination, aliens, 9/11 being an inside job, Chariot of the gods, a book claiming that extraterrestrials influenced the ancient world, and corporate control over government. While some present some truth, some are fantastic and even fictitious. One such theory involves ancient history and a belief that we have not been alone in the universe for sometime. British Author and Green activist David Icke has compiled a series of books claiming that since the dawn of time, Earth has been...

Watch out, animals of South Florida: It's a wild world out there. There are five species of foreign snakes just waiting to eat you. More troublingly, according to a U.S. Geological Survey report released Tuesday, nonnative snakes like the Burmese python could slither their way north from the warm, humid conditions of South Florida. The big snakes threaten native species and ecosystems because they mature and reproduce quickly, travel long distances and can eat almost anything in fur, feathers or scales, experts say. The 302-page report could be a step toward a ban on importing constrictor-like snakes into the U.S.,...

After causing a major stir in Fall River, Mass., a roof-dwelling boa constrictor is now in custody, reported TV station WPRI. The snake had been spotted repeatedly on the roof of a multifamily dwelling in recent weeks, according to various news reports. Nine feet in length, it was eye-catching enough to bring onlookers and aspiring nature photographers to the neighborhood.

It's been about two months since Florida issued a virtual open season on giant invasive Burmese pythons gobbling up rabbits, birds and even small alligators throughout the Everglades. Now there's another nonnative stealthy stalker that could soon be taking up residence in the region — Africa's largest snake, the rock python. Three of these enormous constrictors that can grow to 20 feet and weigh 200 pounds have been found in the last few months in western Miami-Dade County, raising concerns that they could establish a breeding population, just like their Burmese cousins.

Amazing footage. Helps to have sound on. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkeU9W6dC9s

Already squeezed by the invasion of the giant Burmese python, Florida now faces what one scientist calls one of the U.S. state's "worst nightmares. Africa's largest snake—the ill-tempered, 20-foot-long (6.1-meter-long) African rock python—is colonizing the U.S. state, new discoveries suggest.