# Elephant-Devouring Snake -- how big? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 28, 2014, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-devouring-snake-how-big/689497 "2014-05-28T20:25:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-devouring-snake-how-big/689497/1 "2014-05-28T20:25:09Z")
I was wondering – how big would a constrictor-type snake (python, boa) need to be in order to make a meal out of a full-grown African elephant? ---
**Author:** ![Silvorange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Silvorange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silvorange)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-devouring-snake-how-big/689497/2 "2014-05-28T21:19:52Z")
You’ve been reading\* The Little Prince\*, haven’t you? ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-devouring-snake-how-big/689497/3 "2014-05-28T21:26:17Z")
If you just scale up a snake from a rat I would say about 120 feet long would be conservative guess. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-devouring-snake-how-big/689497/4 "2014-05-28T21:35:07Z")
> [@Silvorange](#): > > You’ve been reading\* The Little Prince\*, haven’t you? Exactly. Thought of it before opening the thread: “The size of a hat.” ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-devouring-snake-how-big/689497/5 "2014-05-28T22:05:04Z")
> [@Silvorange](#): > > You’ve been reading\* The Little Prince\*, haven’t you? > [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Exactly. Thought of it before opening the thread: “The size of a hat.” It is the only thing I could think of too. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-devouring-snake-how-big/689497/6 "2014-05-29T00:35:19Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > If you just scale up a snake from a rat I would say about 120 feet long would be conservative guess. So about 3 times as large as the largest snake ever to hasve lived in prehistoric times, [Titanoboa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanoboa.3). ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-devouring-snake-how-big/689497/7 "2014-05-29T01:27:51Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > So about 3 times as large as the largest snake ever to hasve lived in prehistoric times, [Titanoboa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanoboa.3). [FTFY](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanoboa) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-devouring-snake-how-big/689497/8 "2014-05-29T01:38:39Z")
Titanoboa was discovered by some colleagues of mine. We just put together an exhibit here in Panama featuring a [full size replica.](http://www.panamaamerica.com.pa/interesante/titanoboa-la-serpiente-mas-grande-del-mundo-esta-en-panama) ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-devouring-snake-how-big/689497/9 "2014-05-29T14:26:31Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > [FTFY](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanoboa) 😕 “FTFY”? ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-devouring-snake-how-big/689497/10 "2014-05-29T14:30:16Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > 😕 “FTFY”? Fixed that for you. The wiki link was broken. Edit to add a question: Is there a reason beyond availability of suitable prey that snakes couldn’t get bigger than that? ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-devouring-snake-how-big/689497/11 "2014-05-29T14:32:35Z")
When I read the title - I thought, “Elephants don’t eat snakes”. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-devouring-snake-how-big/689497/12 "2014-05-29T14:51:13Z")
About THIS big: [https://search.yahoo.com/search;\_ylt=AoubDuDjagmzZRdWOijc7ISbvZx4?p=Bestiary+Snake+images&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-435](https://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=AoubDuDjagmzZRdWOijc7ISbvZx4?p=Bestiary+Snake+images&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-435) [https://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;\_ylt=AwrB8o7sSYdTJGMATvyJzbkF;\_ylu=X3oDMTI0MnVucjNyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZAMyMmQwOTMwODZkNWVlMGY4OGQ2YzU1Y2U0YzhlZGQ0YgRncG9zAzI2MgRpdANiaW5n?back=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dbestiary%2Belephant%26\_adv\_prop%3Dimage%26va%3Dbestiary%2Belephant%26fr%3Dyfp-t-435%26spos%3D48%26nost%3D1%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D262&w=462&h=412&imgurl=3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-NqQLtCdMK1s%2FUB2nYiUJfFI%2FAAAAAAAAKos%2FsQvTyzN8rnI%2Fs1600%2Felephant2.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.backofthecerealbox.com%2F2012\_08\_01\_archive.html&size=176.2KB&name=So+there+you+go%3A+perfectly+sensible.&p=bestiary+elephant&oid=22d093086d5ee0f88d6c55ce4c8edd4b&fr2=&fr=yfp-t-435&tt=So+there+you+go%3A+perfectly+sensible.&b=241&ni=192&no=262&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=11phdbnfd&sigb=14lq8a170&sigi=12moim4aq&sigt=114a0v3ej&sign=114a0v3ej&.crumb=GuoiXMiesn4&fr=yfp-t-435](https://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=AwrB8o7sSYdTJGMATvyJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTI0MnVucjNyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZAMyMmQwOTMwODZkNWVlMGY4OGQ2YzU1Y2U0YzhlZGQ0YgRncG9zAzI2MgRpdANiaW5n?back=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dbestiary%2Belephant%26_adv_prop%3Dimage%26va%3Dbestiary%2Belephant%26fr%3Dyfp-t-435%26spos%3D48%26nost%3D1%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D262&w=462&h=412&imgurl=3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-NqQLtCdMK1s%2FUB2nYiUJfFI%2FAAAAAAAAKos%2FsQvTyzN8rnI%2Fs1600%2Felephant2.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.backofthecerealbox.com%2F2012_08_01_archive.html&size=176.2KB&name=So+there+you+go%3A+perfectly+sensible.&p=bestiary+elephant&oid=22d093086d5ee0f88d6c55ce4c8edd4b&fr2=&fr=yfp-t-435&tt=So+there+you+go%3A+perfectly+sensible.&b=241&ni=192&no=262&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=11phdbnfd&sigb=14lq8a170&sigi=12moim4aq&sigt=114a0v3ej&sign=114a0v3ej&.crumb=GuoiXMiesn4&fr=yfp-t-435) This was apparently a relatively common illustration in medieval Bestiaries. There’s a variation reproduced in T.H. White’s excellent book _The Bestiary: A Book of Beasts_ ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-devouring-snake-how-big/689497/13 "2014-05-29T15:05:38Z")
Thanks for the information. I was actually wondering if that huge fossil snake found just a few years back-- I only vaguely remembered it, and couldn’t recall the exact name, so thanks for providing the link and info to “Titanoboa” – would be able to defeat and consume a big elephant. Yeah, I suppose something three times as big as that serpentine monstrosity would be able to handle a big proboscidean. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-devouring-snake-how-big/689497/14 "2014-05-29T15:24:28Z")
> [@Teuton](#): > > Edit to add a question: Is there a reason beyond availability of suitable prey that snakes couldn’t get bigger than that? As with other big animals, because of the [square cube law](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square-cube_law) weight (and the difficulty of moving about) increases three times faster than the length. Even in the case of _Titanoboa_ it is thought that the animal must have been [largely aquatic](http://blogs.voanews.com/science-world/files/2011/09/ancient-croc-artist-rendering.jpg) (like an anaconda) in order to be able to move about well. A snake big enough to swallow an elephant might be too big to move. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-devouring-snake-how-big/689497/15 "2014-05-29T15:57:30Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Titanoboa was discovered by some colleagues of mine. We just put together an exhibit here in Panama featuring a [full size replica.](http://www.panamaamerica.com.pa/interesante/titanoboa-la-serpiente-mas-grande-del-mundo-esta-en-panama) That’s fantastic! ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-devouring-snake-how-big/689497/16 "2014-05-29T16:13:43Z")
> [@gytalf2000](#): > > That’s fantastic! There’s also a [Smithsonian traveling exhibit](http://www.sites.si.edu/titanoboa/) on the snake with a full-size replica that’s being shown around the US. Here’s the [itinerary.](http://www.sites.si.edu/titanoboa/#itinerary) It looks like it will be on display near Charlotte NC in late 2015, which could be in your range. The replica that’s now on display in Panama will be sent to Colombia for display near the coal mine where the original fossils were discovered. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-devouring-snake-how-big/689497/17 "2014-05-29T16:15:18Z")
Assuming Titanoboa were to suddenly appear in Pliestocene Europe, would it have been big enough to eat [dwarf elephants](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf_elephant)? ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-devouring-snake-how-big/689497/18 "2014-05-29T16:18:12Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > As with other big animals, because of the [square cube law](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square-cube_law) weight (and the difficulty of moving about) increases three times faster than the length. Even in the case of _Titanoboa_ it is thought that the animal must have been [largely aquatic](http://blogs.voanews.com/science-world/files/2011/09/ancient-croc-artist-rendering.jpg) (like an anaconda) in order to be able to move about well. A snake big enough to swallow an elephant might be too big to move. 20 ft anacondas don’t move very well on land, I would imagine past 40 ft moving well on land might be close to impossible. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-devouring-snake-how-big/689497/19 "2014-05-29T16:26:12Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Assuming Titanoboa were to suddenly appear in Pliestocene Europe, would it have been big enough to eat [dwarf elephants](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf_elephant)? They were probably small enough in physical size. But any elephant with tusks is going to be a severe problem for a snake, since if it started swallowing from the head end (as snakes normally do) it would be unable to get its mouth around them. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-devouring-snake-how-big/689497/20 "2014-05-29T16:40:02Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > They were probably small enough in physical size. But any elephant with tusks is going to be a severe problem for a snake, since if it started swallowing from the head end (as snakes normally do) it would be unable to get its mouth around them. That IS a problem I hadn’t foreseen… _goes to adjust his time transfer device…_ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-devouring-snake-how-big/689497.md?page=2)