Exploding snake
There has been one documented case of an exploding snake, whereby a Burmese python burst. The snake had attempted to eat an alligator whole, but exploded mid-meal. Rangers of the Everglades National Park discovered the explosion in October 2005, but they could not locate the snake's head; the alligator had also died. Frank Mazzotti, a professor from the University of Florida, suggested that the alligator had tried to claw its way out of the snake, causing the explosion. Alternative theories suggest the alligator could have already been dead, or a third animal was involved.
Snopes offers other possible alternative explanations. The python ate an alligator (possibly an already-dead one it came across), and some other agent — probably human — killed the snake, chopped off its head, and cut open its midsection, exposing the as-yet undigested gator. Or, the rotting gator meat inside the python caused a build-up of gases which ruptured the snake's body, and after the python died its head sank into the water, where it was eaten by scavengers. (Some pundits have even maintained that the snake was killed by a second alligator, which then ate the serpent's head.)
The incident was noted as a sign that alligators' supremacy as predators is not a certainty in the wild. Frank Mazzotti, a wildlife professor at the University of Florida, remarked that a human discovery of such a battle between these predators was rare indeed.
The incident was part of a "python epidemic" in which pet owners released their pythons throughout Florida, in belief that they would not cause trouble. At least 93 pythons were captured, not including the one involved in this incident. This "python epidemic" continues presently.
See also
References
External links
- Who's Saurian Now?: Photograph shows a snake that burst trying to eat an alligator (Snopes.com)
- Python Bursts After Trying to Eat Gator (AP, via WTOPNews.com)