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Posted by oldherper on April 08, 2003 at 07:43:21:
In Reply to: Folklore or What? posted by poccodiablo on April 07, 2003 at 20:35:59:
There is a fairly recent case somewhere in the N.E. U.S. of a large python (either a Burm or a Retic, can't remember which now) that escaped from it's cage and killed an unattended toddler in the family's kitchen. It did not eat the child, but constricted her. According to the police reports, the owner (the child's dad) knew that the animal's cage was not secure and the snake had, in fact, escaped once earlier that same day. The child's father was charged with whatever charges they came up with regarding child endangerment, etc., but as far as I know the case has not gone to trial yet.
That's as close to a verifiable instance of pet-snake-eating/killing-child that I've heard. I have heard of a couple more where it turned out that the parents had actually killed the child, then applied the snake's mouth to the child to make bite marks so they could "frame" the snake for the crime. In one case, it was a Boa constrictor that was really not even large enough to have done the deed. Nobody said criminals are smart.
There is no doubt that a large python is fully capable of killing and consuming a small child. There is also no doubt in my mind that one would if it had the opportunity and were hungry. Humans aren't a normal part of a python's diet, but they don't know that...they don't read the same books we do. There have been cases of zoo keepers being fatally attacked or near fatally attacked by the zoo's pythons, and of private keepers being killed by their pythons.
:Is there a documented case of a captive snake killing a human baby? I know its a funny question but I keep on getting "Well, they have killed babies in there cribs" from people. I'm guessing this is actually just urban legend since snake related deaths are pretty low, like less then deaths by falling vending machines.
:Jeff Robertson
