Python snakes infesting Florida - threat to endangered species
2/5/09

I have seen this featured on Animal Planet a couple of times now...these large constrictors are a problem for sure. Have you ever seen the arial shot they took of a very large constrictor that had an alligator coming out its side, both of course were dead but that snake was HUGE!

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That Pic sends a cold shiver down my back.

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'Python Patrol' targets giant snakes of South Florida

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This is exactly why I don't think certain animals like snakes, lizards, geckos, rats, mice etc. should be pets.

Quote:

SUMTER COUNTY, Fla. -- A 2-year-old girl was found dead Wednesday morning in a Sumter County home after being strangled by a 12-foot pet python. The incident took place at a home on County Highway 466 in Oxford The call for assistance came in just before 10:00am, but the little girl was already dead by the time emergency crews arrived. According to officials, Charles Jason Darnell, the snake's owner and boyfriend of the victim's mother, said he locked the pet snake up in a cage Tuesday night, but when he awoke Wednesday the snake was missing from the cage. He then searched the home and found the snake on 2-year-old Shaiyanna Hare and noticed a bite mark on the child's forehead.

What a sad and unnecessary death. Her family and friends must be devastated.

Quote:

Officials said Darnell then repeatedly stabbed the python. The snake was found under a dresser when deputies arrived. It's unclear at this time if the snake is dead. Another snake, reportedly a 6-foot boa constrictor, was also in the house. The victim's mother was identified as 23-year-old Jaren Ashley Hare. Both Hare and Darnell were being questioned and charges could be filed, but no decision has been made. Jorge Pino, a spokesman with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said that pythons are not native to Florida and can easily grow to 10 or 12 feet long. He also said owners need a license to possess a python in the state.

Why stab the snake after it killed the child? What good does that do? I guess it was just a reflex reaction of rage and grief.

Quote:

Some owners have freed pythons into the wild and a population of them has taken hold in the Everglades. One killed an alligator and then exploded when it tried to eat it. Scientists also speculate a bevy of Burmese pythons escaped in 1992 from pet shops battered by Hurricane Andrew and have been reproducing since.

This is exactly why I make a point never to eat anything bigger than my head.

I get that snakes are low maintenance and great for people with cat or dog allergies. Some people just think they are cool. But special care must be taken when you remove an essentially wild animal from it's natural environment.

The article says the snake was in a cage, I hope they meant more of a terrarium, with a weighted lid. That's how my former house mate kept her snakes and they never got out.

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You wouldn't catch me dead in a house with snakes when there's little ones to contend with. I am sorry for her loss, but.....WHAT WAS SHE THINKING? And I know she will have to live with this for the rest of her life and that is very tragic.

A two year old in the same house as a 12 ft snake? Don't people have more sense than this?

One of the reasons this picture makes me cringe

Before ya ll get to jazzed up on the sensationalized "media"
and get off on an ignorance fueled snake killing tangent,you might wanna let the truth be told.

There will be more to the story,even the limited information
that has been disclosed is lacking sustainable truth/fact.
A 12' Burm couldn't possibly have eaten that child,therefore "an attack" is primary clue #1.

Snakes are not "human"they do not kill indiscriminately.

Even hungry a snake raised in captivity can discern what is "food".
Snakes are some of the "literally"dumbest animals on the planet.
Humans do not smell like rat,rabbit,Guinea pig,chicken etc.
Failure to understand the simplistic instinct of a reptile
allows for exaggerated assumption.To strike out of defense when threatened and to strike when startled is an "instinctive" behavior.

To strike and hold,then Constrict is an entirely different set of actions
which MUST BE INDUCED/MOTIVATED !(smell like food at the very least)


The tragic loss of a young child's life is never an easy issue to deal with.
The snake in question will be exonerated when its all said and done.
Another case of Child Abuse will fall into the statistics.

I hope the "human factor" is punished to the full extent the Law allows.

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TRUCKING IS NOT REMEDIAL!

Thats an old but cool picture,that kid is well into his teens now.
That snake was wild caught and has never caused an issue in that village.
Yes that animal is large enough to eat that kid,but a snake of that size is already conditioned to eat other animal prey.

The boy is privileged to live in a land with such awesome critters.

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TRUCKING IS NOT REMEDIAL!

Is that snake still alive