One of the experts quoted in that article echoed Colibri’s point about the shoulders, but apparently that snake got it done anyway.
Huh? I find it ‘hard to be sure’ about size of the snake from the picture, with no scale present.
Also, if you look, you’ll see the snake is not wrapped around her, just draped across her. I wouldn’t leave her alone with it, true.
ETA: We can only hope no one is harvesting palm oil in that living room.
If the size of the snake is that close a call, then you can’t be sure the snake isn’t too big for a rescuer to handle.
The snake doesn’t have to get its full body around her to kill her, just get a coil around her neck. And it could get a head or neck coil around her quickly.
Well, that’s reassuring.
I’ll admit that my use of the word ‘crush’ may have been inaccurate, but I maintain that it’s well within the snakes abaility to kill the child.
http://www.humanesociety.org/assets/pdfs/wildlife/captive/constrictor-snake-attacks.pdf
If the child was left alone for, say, 5 minuets, and if the snake’s constrictor reflex was triggered, the kid could be dead by the time anyone noticed.
And the same is true if she were left alone with a dog, except the dog could kill her faster.
And if she were left alone with a human…
Well, yeah, but my point was that no one would a picture of her curled up with **a dog **creepy
A dog is a domestic animal that has been bred as a human companion for tens of thousands of years. A snake is not.
I’m going to name this observation The Mrs Butterworth Effect.
They are still more likely to kill children and can do so faster.
Tell me, do you not like snakes? I know there are some people who don’t.
Just how much force can these constrictors crush things with, I’d be interested in data that had a real world example like oh they could crush this empty oil drum or something.
On the subject of reptile emotion in general, I used to have a pet iguana but my parents made me read a book about their care before they would buy me one. I’m paraphrasing from memory but it had some funny statement like "although your iguana may seem fond of you and sit on your shoulder or lap, rest assured this is only for your body heat, your pet iguana does not love you.
Look at rate of attack(s) vs. numbers; there are millions, tens of millions of canines kept as pets. Their general behavioral spectrum is well understood. Yes, individually, some are moody/withdrawn, and not good pets; most are J. Average Dog, and, if treated well, and properly socialized, great companions.
We’ve spent 9,000-34,000 years making it so.
Now, what is the rate of snake ownership vs. attacks?
Reptiles are bundles of primitive instincts; eat, shit, sleep, copulate.
Now, if you like reptiles as pets, more power to you. I don’t dislike reptiles, but certain types (fanged, venomous) I give them their due respect, and a corresponding wide berth.
But ascribing to them the emotional capacity of domesticated canines is patently absurd. At best, a snake will be fed, and therefore content, and accustomed to, familiarized with, being around humans.
That doesn’t make them domesticated pets.
We are pretty sure the child was not curled up with fanged or venomous snake.
Yes, let’s look at rates of attacks for snakes and dogs, as the number of attacks v. the number of the animals kept as pets.
(And of course dogs make the best pets; no one would argue otherwise.)
What a language. A child is more likely to be killed by a dog than a snake but that is not the same as a dog being more likely to kill a child than a snake.
Look, I kept snakes for years, am quite fond of them and I knew several people who had large constrictors. Three of those people had animals that were over 10’. Every single one of them had had an “incident” with their snake at one time or another. Usually by being careless at feeding time but in one case for no apparent reason at all.
Snakes are simply not trustworthy. They’re marvelous, fascinating animals - but they are very, very dumb. Mostly they are just a bundle of instincts. Whether it is irritable aggression/defensive strikes when half-blind nearing a shed or smelling rat/rabbit scent on an unwary hand at feeding time, there are all sorts of things that can go wrong with snakes. And snakes don’t have sentiment or emotional attachments. They can probably recognize and get particularly habituated to an owner, but that is not the same as a dog in a hierarchical pack relationship or a cat that thinks you’re its mother.
Large constrictors are potentially dangerous( and at that size the bites alone are pretty damn painful as well )and should be treated with due caution. That doesn’t mean never handling a tame one ever*, but it does mean that even adults should be careful not to let even a calm one coil around your body. In most cases you will probably be fine, but it is an unnecessary risk. Small children can in no way extricate themselves from a large constrictor if it is triggered - they should not be handling them( or lounging casually with them )AT ALL. It won’t really be the snake’s fault( they don’t know any better ), but there is a real threat there.
*Non-tame ones probably shouldn’t be kept or if they are should pretty much be display animals. Generally speaking you really don’t want to own a green anaconda, rock python or reticulated python( I knew someone who had the last - it was pissy as fuck ).
Look, I don’t disagree with you. I love my dogs, but I am sure there are plenty of cat lovers who would argue otherwise.
I like snakes fine. I’ve handled plenty of non-venomous snakes, including large constrictors. When I was a kid I used to keep garter snakes and such. I’ve encountered plenty of venomous snakes in the wild, including Fer-de-lance and Bushmaster, as well as large constrictors like Boa constrictor, Rock Python (I nearly stepped on one coiled up behind my tent in Kenya once), and Anaconda. I treat them with appropriate respect, but am not unduly afraid of them.
As I said, dogs are domestic animals which have been selected for tens of thousands of years to socialize with humans.
Snakes are wild animals whose behavior is largely instinctive. I would feel the same way about seeing a small child cuddled up with a pet wolf or leopard. The behavior of wild animals, no matter how “tame” and habituated they are to humans, is innately unpredictable.
Thanks to Tamerlane for an excellent discussion of the potential issues.
Well sure, but they’re wrong.
An interesting article that discusses some of the force involved and another possible mechanism for subduing prey( via “red-out” by increasing blood pressure ).
Traditionally snakes, especially smaller ones it seems, don’t crush as much as they suffocate. They coil tightly around the ribs and squeeze tighter every time you exhale, steadily compressing the rib cage and collapsing the lungs by stages until you go under from lack of oxygen.