pythons news stories on Newser

Pythons Squeezing Life Out of Everglades

Rob Quinn — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:32:00 CST

The native mammals of the Florida Everglades have been all but wiped out by huge numbers of pythons and anacondas descended from released pets, a new study finds. After nearly a decade of night-time road surveys in the 1.5 million-acre national park, researchers found that raccoon and opossum sightings...

'Magic' World Cup Python Seized

Rob Quinn — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 01:46:32 CDT

South African animal welfare officials have confiscated a "magic" snake that was being used with an eye toward swaying the outcome of World Cup matches. The 9-foot rock python was found in poor condition at the home of a traditional doctor, who had been accepting payment from people seeking to...

Motel Guest Assaults Complainer With Python

Rob Quinn — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 04:27:16 CDT

Weird crime of the week: a South Carolina man who responded to a request to turn his music down by jamming a 6-foot python into his fellow motel guest's face has been arrested for assault and battery. "I almost had a heart attack," said the victim, who had earlier told...

Brit Gang Uses Snake to Attack Teen

Mary Papenfuss — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 08:11:30 CDT

A gang of young British toughs armed with snakes used a python to bite a teen they pinned to a wall, reports the Guardian . The 14-year-old boy is recovering with two puncture wounds in his hand. He suffered breathing difficulties, but paramedics say that was due to panic and not...

Florida to Unleash Python Hunters

Kevin Spak — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:54:56 CDT

With Florida’s python population exploding, state wildlife officials are going on the offensive, hiring a team of trained hunters to track down the alarmingly large snakes and take them out, the Miami Herald reports. “There’s one way to do this: kill the snakes,” says Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, who yesterday...

Pet Python Strangles 2-Year-Old

Kevin Spak — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:49:51 CDT

A 2-year-old Florida girl was strangled to death yesterday by a pet python owned by her mother’s boyfriend, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Charles Darnell noticed that his 8-foot-long albino Burmese python had escaped from its aquarium when he awoke yesterday morning. He found it on top of the girl in...

Fla. Eyes Loosing Bounty Hunters on Pythons

Matt Cantor — Fri, 29 May 2009 13:20:04 CDT

With pythons slithering amok in the Everglades, Florida wildlife managers are toying with the notion of employing bounty hunters to cull the population, the Miami Herald reports. “If we don't get on top of this, they're going to eradicate the indigenous species of the Everglades,” said one. Officials have floated...

Snakes on a Plane 2: Baby Pythons Escape in Flight

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:01:19 CDT

Four baby pythons escaped from a container aboard a passenger plane in Australia, leading to a search that forced the cancellation of two flights, the airline said today. Twelve non-venomous Stimson pythons were being transported Tuesday on a flight from Alice Springs to Melbourne, but when the flight landed it...

Python Attack Survivor: 'I Had to Bite It'

Katherine Thompson — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 12:17:18 CDT

A Kenyan farm worker beat the odds last weekend, surviving an attack by a 13-foot python that dragged him up a tree, the BBC reports. "I stepped on a spongy thing on the ground and suddenly my leg was entangled with the body of a huge python," Ben Nyaumbe recalled....