# Has a giant snake ever swallowed an adult human? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 11, 2009, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-giant-snake-ever-swallowed-an-adult-human/485434 "2009-02-11T22:03:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-giant-snake-ever-swallowed-an-adult-human/485434/1 "2009-02-11T22:03:38Z")
I receive a chain email at work a few minutes ago with a series of pictures that look pretty realistic. Entitled “Don’f fall a sleep (sic) in the jungle!”, the 8 pictures show a python with a large bulge in its stomach being crated, displayed, and then finally opened with a man inside. Realizing that chain mails are poor evidence, I did a quick search here and on snopes. Snopes had a disproven fake article about a boy being swallowed, but their pictures and mine dont match. I thought for sure the SD would have it, since I clearly remember reading about this somewhere and the author talked about how hard it would be for the snake not to choke around a man’s shoulders. But nothing on SD and even still, the pictures are pretty convincing. Is this email true? No cite, no location, no date, but damn those are some good pictures [http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/8624/snake5im7.th.jpg](http://img140.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snake5im7.jpg) (image isnt working for me for some reason but maybe it’ll show up) ---
**Author:** ![mutantmoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@mutantmoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mutantmoose)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-giant-snake-ever-swallowed-an-adult-human/485434/2 "2009-02-11T23:34:33Z")
In this film, at 11:00 mins in, Austin Stevens says that a 20 foot+ reticulated python could swallow a man whole, no problem at all. He finds the big snake at about 32 mins. [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1966640108104933896](http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1966640108104933896) It’s a biggie and no mistake. Whether it could really get it’s jaws round a human’s shoulders though I dunno. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-giant-snake-ever-swallowed-an-adult-human/485434/3 "2009-02-11T23:59:23Z")
> [@mutantmoose](#): > > Whether it could really get it’s jaws round a human’s shoulders though I dunno. [Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake) has this to say (under Feeding and Diet): > [@](#): > > The snake’s jaw is the most unique jaw in the animal kingdom. Contrary to the popular belief that snakes can dislocate their jaws, snakes have a very flexible lower jaw, the two halves of which are not rigidly attached, and numerous other joints in their skull (see snake skull), allowing them to open their mouths wide enough to swallow their prey whole, even if it is larger in diameter than the snake itself, If you do a YouTube search on (TMI warning) “snake swallowed hippo” you’ll see rather alarming video of a huge constrictor that actually did devour a hippo (quite a small one, but certainly as large as a human). ---
**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:** [February 12, 2009, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-giant-snake-ever-swallowed-an-adult-human/485434/4 "2009-02-12T02:17:27Z")
The problem with a snake swallowing an adult human is not so much the size but the shape. Snakes almost invariably start swallowing at the head end. Human shoulders present an almost insurmountable barrier to continued swallowing. Pigs, deer, and other animals that taper at the head end are much easier to swallow. I am not aware of any authenticated cases of a snake, no matter how large, having swallowed an adult human being. PS. I wouldn’t consider someone like Austin Stevens an authority. He’s in show business and no doubt has an interest in telling a good story. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-giant-snake-ever-swallowed-an-adult-human/485434/5 "2009-02-12T02:41:52Z")
[Disastrous python crocfest](http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mrgoodpost.com/forums/gallery/files/1-exploding_snake2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.mrgoodpost.com/forums/t266-crocodile-eater.html&usg=__gtU_AaSx592BRqFS3-3Nv6c0OuI=&h=413&w=550&sz=50&hl=en&start=4&tbnid=ehSzN3X6TJvxQM:&tbnh=100&tbnw=133&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsnake%2Bcrocodile%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG) ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-giant-snake-ever-swallowed-an-adult-human/485434/6 "2009-02-12T02:56:21Z")
I watched a program on the History Channel the other day that said it _may_ be possible, but that there were no confirmed cases. They basically echoed **Xema and Colibri** ’s posts. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-giant-snake-ever-swallowed-an-adult-human/485434/7 "2009-02-12T03:20:33Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > [Disastrous python crocfest](http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mrgoodpost.com/forums/gallery/files/1-exploding_snake2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.mrgoodpost.com/forums/t266-crocodile-eater.html&usg=__gtU_AaSx592BRqFS3-3Nv6c0OuI=&h=413&w=550&sz=50&hl=en&start=4&tbnid=ehSzN3X6TJvxQM:&tbnh=100&tbnw=133&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsnake%2Bcrocodile%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG) I saw a wildlife biologist speculating on what happened on this. He said that it’s possible for a snake to swallow something that’s so big that it can actually start decomposing inside the snake’s body before it has been digested. The decomp causes a buildup of gasses internally, and in this case, so he speculated, actually ruptured the snake’s body. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-giant-snake-ever-swallowed-an-adult-human/485434/8 "2009-02-12T06:24:48Z")
I’m guessing from the responses that my picture didn’t work… ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-giant-snake-ever-swallowed-an-adult-human/485434/9 "2009-02-12T12:43:20Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > I’m guessing from the responses that my picture didn’t work… The picture worked for me, but I don’t find it to be convincing. All I see is a person lying on what may be a rock python or a reticulated python which has been cut open. The photo doesn’t show that the person was actually inside the snake. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-giant-snake-ever-swallowed-an-adult-human/485434/10 "2009-02-12T13:20:54Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Has a giant snake ever swallowed an adult human? Need answer fast? ---
**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:** [February 12, 2009, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-giant-snake-ever-swallowed-an-adult-human/485434/11 "2009-02-12T14:44:21Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > The picture worked for me, but I don’t find it to be convincing. All I see is a person lying on what may be a rock python or a reticulated python which has been cut open. The photo doesn’t show that the person was actually inside the snake. Same here. There have been previous hoax photos in which a person has apparently posed within a cut-open snake. Without a date, location, or name of the purported victim the photo proves nothing.