Pythons in Indonesia seem to have gone crazy. Since June 2024, at least three cases of attacks on humans by huge snakes have been recorded. For example, on August 14, a woman was swallowed up to her shoulders by a predator after she went to work in the field. Apparently, the four-meter monster was unable to swallow the victim in one go and regurgitated her. He was unable to make a second attempt because locals who found the woman beat him to death. Such terrible cases are not uncommon, especially in tropical countries, where people are often forced to work in the wild. Pythons are unique animals that are able to swallow prey whole: they kill deer, cows and even alligators. But how do they not tear themselves apart? Why do their internal organs not get crushed from the strain?
Pythons are dangerous not because of their poisonous teeth, but because of their ability to swallow their prey whole
Why are pythons dangerous
There are more than 40 species of pythons in the world, and all of them are not poisonous. Their danger lies in the fact that their body length can reach 10 meters. Their mouth expands to such an extent that it allows them to swallow large animals and adult humans at once. They are most often found in Africa and Australia – you can stumble upon them in tropical forests, savannas and swampy areas.
Green python on a tree. Photo source: kipmu.ru
Pythons have a unique ability to survive without food for several months. When they find prey, they swallow it whole to slowly digest it.
Interesting fact:in some countries, pythons are eaten by locals. In March 2024, scientists calculated that raising pythons as a source of meat is much more profitable than raising chickens and cattle.
How a python's body works
Pythons can completely swallow prey that is larger than their head or even body. This is possible due to their unusual body structure.
First of all, pythons' gluttony is due to the fact that their jaws move independently of each other. The lower jaw is divided into two and can stretch to such an extent that the prey is completely captured. When snakes clamp their prey with their mouths, they seem to “walk” their heads along its body, gradually pulling it into their throats. Python skin is much more elastic than that of other snakes, so it easily stretches to completely fit the prey into the body.
Python Skull. Image Source: researchgate.net
Pythons usually try to swallow their prey head first, so that its arms and legs do not get stuck in the digestive tract. Once the prey is inside, it moves along the esophagus, following muscle contractions. While eating, snakes can choke – to prevent this from happening, they pull the breathing tube out. This is not a sight for the faint of heart, so we will not attach photos. If you are interested, you can find everything yourself on the Internet.
A python that has already swallowed its prey. Photo source: fotobase.co
Read also: What's the difference between pythons and boas?
New discovery in the field of python research
Recently, Popular Science published details about what happens to the heart of pythons when they eat large prey. The results of a new scientific study say that in the first week after the meal, the snakes' organs increase in size and then decrease.
To find out, scientists conducted an experiment involving royal pythons (Python regius). These creatures live in western and central Africa and are considered the smallest representatives of the python family – they grow to a maximum of 1.5 meters in length. One group of pythons fasted for 28 days, and the other fed on whole rats.
White royal python. Photo source: priroda.club
It turned out that after eating, pythons' hearts increase in size by about 25%. This is necessary to cope with the stress exerted on the body during digestion. At the same time, the heart becomes extremely soft so as not to be damaged by stretching the skin.
The authors of the scientific work believe that new knowledge about the anatomy of pythons in the future can help in developing technologies for treating heart disease in humans. In particular, this small discovery can improve the lives of people with stiff heart syndrome. This is the name of a disease in which a person's heart beats equally both at rest and during physical activity. In other words, the heart of people with this diagnosis does not respond to other changes in the body.
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Stiff heart syndrome leads to problems with blood circulation and can ultimately cause heart failure, stroke or myocardial infarction. So the research was definitely not in vain.