Indian python: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 03:49, 4 August 2006

Revision as of 20:32, 23 August 2006

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==Food==

Pythons feed on mammals, birds and reptiles indiscriminately, but seem to prefer mammals. Roused to activity on sighting prey, the snake will advance with quivering tail and lunge with open mouth. Live prey are constricted and killed. One or two coils are thrown around the prey, holding it in a tight grip. The prey, unable to breath, succumbs and is swallowed head first. Prior to swallowing, the prey is smelt all over with the tongue. The snake is normally disinclined to move after a heavy meal, and if forced to move, hard parts may tear through the body, hence prompting some specimens to disgorge thiertheir prey if disturbed so they can escape from potential predators. After a heavy meal, a python may fast for several days or weeks, the longest recorded duration being 2 years. A lot has been said in movies and books about the danger that this beautiful snake poses to man but till date there has been ''no'' authentic case of a human being eaten by a python.