Al-anwar Newspaper English news in Australia
KALAHAN DENG
Ever spot something cool while you were on a bike ride? Probably nothing quite as interesting as this massive python that was spotted by a cyclist on June 14th. The snake, engorged nearly to the point of immobility by a mystery animal that bulged in its gut, was spotted next to a trail in the Lake Eland Game Reserve in South Africa.Believe it or not, that’s just over half as long as they can grow under perfect conditions. They’re capable of growing up to twenty-three feet long. They can also live up to twenty-five years. Even so, it’s unbelievable how wide the python can expand when consuming. That’s one fat snake!Some guessed that it had swallowed a young impala (the animal, not the car). Others thought it might have been a warthog. When I first saw these images, the best thing I could come up with was a baby deer. We were all wrong… very wrong. Something no one would of guessed.It was found dead beneath a rocky ledge. Chances are, it fell off the ledge and was internally damaged by its former meal. They were eager to discover what kind of prize lay within it. Although it may appear that the snake bit off more than it could chew (so to speak), the snake’s body can accommodate this kind of mass without pain.After a slit is cut with a razor, the snake’s distended flesh peels back to reveal the partially-digested corpse of a very large porcupine. The brown objects appear to be vertebrae. Yet, even at this stage, you really can’t tell what that thing is… To me it still looks like a lump of flesh with thick fur.
The porcupine weighed 30 pounds!
Believe it or not, that’s not really that huge for a Cape porcupine. The really big ones can grow to be over fifty pounds.Though you wouldn’t think it, porcupines are regular prey animals for pythons. Although it was possible that the undigested quills punctured its internal organs and killed it, the most likely scenario is that the force of the snake’s fall from the rocky ledge led to internal wounds. Who would of thought your meal would end up killing you?
What do you get when two of the most powerful and intimidating reptiles on the planet come face to face in the wild? Lunchtime, that’s what. In this case, it is a massive python that makes a meal out of an unsuspecting crocodile.
The 10-ft. python sneaks up on the croc and prepares to wrap itself tightly around its body.
What do you get when two of the most powerful and intimidating reptiles on the planet come face to face in the wild? Lunchtime, that’s what. In this case, it is a massive python that makes a meal out of an unsuspecting crocodile.
The 10-ft. python sneaks up on the croc and prepares to wrap itself tightly around its body.
