quote:

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Originally posted by Stan the man:
Poor dogs, but hey, the snake was only doing what came natural when it gets hungry. It ate food.

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quote:

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Originally posted by TrapperKeeper:
They should call it Monty.

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hah!

 

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Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
 
Contrast this with our treatment of the mountain lions from another thread.

Not the smartest guard dogs, snakes don't eat fruit!
 

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Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
 
What, they didn't make it to an even dozen before someone figured out something was wrong?

Good for them for not just killing it, though.
 

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Posted by Telperion the Silver (Member # 6074) on :
 
Awesome.
I had a boa once as a pet. His name was Spot. He was a good snake.
 

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Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
 
I just know that there's a Sir Mix-A-Lot joke in there somewhere.
 

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Posted by A Rat Named Dog (Member # 699) on :
 
Actually, rather than a guard python, it sounds like a much better burglar's python.
 

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Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
 
*invokes animal compaion fantasy trope*
 

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Posted by Nell Gwyn (Member # 8291) on :
 

quote:

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Villagers did not harm the snake, which was tied to a tree then handed to wildlife officials

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How does one tie a 23-foot snake to a tree? I'd think it would be strong enough to break a rope.
 

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Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
 
meh ... BlackWidow eats 37dogs
 

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Posted by docmagik (Member # 1131) on :
 

quote:

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Poor doggies.

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quote:

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How does one tie a 23-foot snake to a tree? I'd think it would be strong enough to break a rope.

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No, you misunderstand. Imagine the scene from Jungle Book where Baloo ties Kaa to a tree. No rope neccessary.
 

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Posted by Nell Gwyn (Member # 8291) on :
 


(But really, how do they do that? I'm figuring the only place to put the rope securely is right behind its head, but is that enough to hold a snake that size, or would they need to pretty much straightjacket the snake full-length to the tree?)

*is oddly fascinated by the concept of large-scale snake-confinement*
 

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Posted by Euripides (Member # 9315) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Stan the man:

"And now for something completely different."

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quote:

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Originally posted by Nell Gwyn:


(But really, how do they do that? I'm figuring the only place to put the rope securely is right behind its head, but is that enough to hold a snake that size, or would they need to pretty much straightjacket the snake full-length to the tree?)

*is oddly fascinated by the concept of large-scale snake-confinement*

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They certainly did not tie the snake to itself, you usually have to break a snakes bones to be able to do that.

Snakes certainly are not strong enough to break a good rope. Remember their strength is in their ability to crush their coils together. You won't see a snake even attempt to move their prey to a more secure locations because they simply cannot manage it.

Snakes move by "waving" or I guess you could say pressing their belly scales against the ground and pulling them back in a coordinated fashion. A less effective means of transportation to be sure but they have managed it quite grandly. This allows them to move their bulks quite efficiently but snakes are not a "fast animal" by a long shot. In fact, if a snake has just eaten it is hard pressed to move anywhere. Hence if you agitate a fed snake it will regurgitate its prey so that it can flee more efficiently, (though there might be more to it then that).

To illustrate it another way, take crocodiles. Any human being can clasp a crocodiles jaws shut, the muscles that open it are quite weak, but try prying their jaws open and you have an epic struggle on your hands. In same token, any snake can be prevented from slithering away by an adult. Its nearly impossible to uncoil a snake that is constricting somebody.
 

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Posted by Nell Gwyn (Member # 8291) on :
 
Ah. Thank you, that makes much more sense now. I'm used to dogs and horses, and I have hardly any experience with snakes (read: none), so I was having trouble shaking the collar/halter/leash images out of my head.

But just to clarify, by "straightjacket" I never meant that I thought they tied the snake to itself. I was thinking something more along the lines of possibly confining its body by wrapping it around the tree. Stupid, I know, but if securing its head isn't enough, and since snakes wrap themselves around trees and branches with no ill effects...well, it made sense in my head. Almost.
 

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Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
 
I'm sorry, but how good of a guard dog can it be to get beaten by a python? A python, frankly, isn't the most agile creature in the world, you know.
 

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Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
 
Haven't you ever seen the movie Anaconda? Those suckas are lightning fast!
 

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Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Jon Boy:
Haven't you ever seen the movie Anaconda?

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quote:

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Originally posted by Nighthawk:

quote:

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Originally posted by Jon Boy:
Haven't you ever seen the movie Anaconda?

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I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer. Personal pride is at risk.

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quote:

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Originally posted by BlackBlade:
Contrast this with our treatment of the mountain lions from another thread.

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Hey, I wasn't in favor of the treatment of those mountain lions and it's not standard treatment where I live, although I apparently killed the thread so it's not like anyone knows that.
 

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Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
 
<shrug> It's a snake-eat-dog world out there.
 

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Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
 
The snake ate dogs, not people. If it had eaten people, the reaction might have been different.
 

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Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by rivka:
The snake ate dogs, not people. If it had eaten people, the reaction might have been different.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Architraz Warden:

I got the impression the eating of 11 dogs took place over a length of days / weeks / months. While Pythons can eat large animals, I'm not sure it could handle 11 medium animals all at once...

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