What Snakes Really Eat Humans? Unraveling the Myth

Written by Reptilestime in Snakes

Snakes are carnivores that prey on smaller organisms like birds, rodents, toads, and fish. Although most species only bite humans they come into contact with in self-defense, are there any snakes that eat humans?

The Reticulated python eats humans because it is large enough to swallow one. Mature ones reach 6.5 m (21.3 ft) in length and 75 kg (165 lb) in weight. African rock pythons can also eat humans, especially kids and small adolescents. Aside from their size, their flexible jaws make it possible.

Snakes swallowing people are rare because they are not the primary food targets. However, a few have reportedly eaten humans, so continue reading this article to read more about them.

1. The Reticulated Python

Reticulated pythons (Malayopython reticulatus) are among the heaviest snakes in the world, and they’re also among the longest. Hence, it isn’t too surprising that they can eat humans.

Native to Asia, the reticulated python allegedly swallowed a Nepali woman in 2018. Locals found her sandals and machete about 30 m (98 feet) away from the snake.

Although no one witnessed the incident, it was deduced that the python must have been able to swallow the woman because of its jaw. Highly flexible ligaments interconnect across their jaw so that they can stretch around relatively large prey.

Moreover, despite 6.5 m (21.3 ft) being the average mature reticulated python’s length, one has reached a staggering 10 m (32.8 ft). It is already almost twice the height of the tallest giraffe at 5.7 m (18.7 ft), so there is certainly enough space length-wise to accommodate most humans.

One reticulated python in Kansas City, US, is the longest snake ever held in captivity. It is 7.6 m (25 ft) long.

However, it is noteworthy that the reticulated python doesn’t particularly search for humans to devour. Their carnivores’ diet mainly includes:

  • Rats
  • Treeshrews
  • Deer
  • Pigs
  • Birds

They can swallow prey up to their weight and one-quarter their length. However, larger ones will take weeks to digest, as seen in the Nepal incident.

2. Burmese Pythons

Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus), also native to Asia, are capable of eating humans for many reasons. However, its typical diet includes small mammals, birds, other reptiles, and amphibians, such as:

  • Rats
  • House wren
  • Alligators
  • Newts

They rely on heat sensors & chemical receptors to locate potential prey. After spotting one, they strike rapidly with their sharp teeth, wrapping their long body around the target to kill it through constriction.

In 2008 in Venezuela, a Burmese python wrapped its body around one of its zoo keepers and had begun swallowing. Before it could ingest the dead victim’s head, however, other zoo workers beat it enough to release the body.

It isn’t clear whether it would have successfully swallowed the human, but not many snake species could make such an audacious attempt – and succeed. 

The species also possess stretchy ligaments in their jaws that permit swallowing large organisms whole for digestion – a process that could take weeks or months.

Mature Burmese pythons average 5 m (16 ft) in length, making them one of the largest species of snakes. In 2022, conservationists captured a 5.5 m (18 ft) long one in Florida.

3. Green Anacondas

Based on their monstrous size, green anacondas (Eunectes murinus) can eat humans when desperate. They are about 20 to 30 feet (roughly 6-9 meters) long and weigh up to 550 pounds (249.5 kilograms), making them the heaviest known snakes.

With a team of experts, Paul Rosolie was almost swallowed by an anaconda in a wildlife documentary movie. He would have been constricted until he suffocated, at which point the snake would have digested him.

Regularly, green anacondas go for prey near bodies of water where they spend the most time. Some of their favorite options might include the following:

  • Red-neck side turtles
  • Northern pudus
  • Wattled jacanas
  • South American tapirs

The female snakes also feed on their prey’s undeveloped eggs or newly-hatched young. 

4. African Rock Python

The African Rock python (Python sebae) displayed its deadly strangling powers in 2013 after killing two sleeping kids in New Brunswick, Canada. However, in 2002, one allegedly swallowed a ten-year-old in South Africa. The African Rock python is definitely a snake you wouldn’t want to come face to face with.

These species are Africa’s most giant snakes, reaching 6.1 meters (roughly 20 feet) in length when they mature. Coupled with the fact that they are ill-tempered from birth, their attempts to devour humans is quite understandable.

The African Rock also has flexible skin and jaws loosely attached to the skull to allow large prey, like herons and antelope, to pass through their gullet.

On average, mature African Rock pythons weigh around 44-55 kg (97-121 lb). However, exceedingly large ones reach 91 kg (201 lb).

Sources

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