Boys claim friend eaten by snake

The Sydney Morning Herald. ^ | November 22 2002 | AFP

[eldoradude]

A young South African boy is missing, his friends say he was swallowed by an African rock python, and a snake expert says he believes them.

"I've dealt with a few cases like this and I always dispel them as absolute rubbish. But in my opinion this one did happen," snake park owner Craig Smith told AFP yesterday.

He said a group of boys, aged between five and eight, were playing in a mango plantation in the eastern harbour city of Durban at the weekend. One of the boys later ran home and told his mother his friend had been eaten by a snake.

"Normally, in these cases, I ask people a couple of basic questions like how the snake moved and then it becomes clear they are talking nonsense," Smith said.

"But the way the snake was described by the child, the way he said the snake moved, the way he said the snake grabbed the child, there is a very good likelihood it did occur."

Smith said there was evidence that a snake, between 5 and 6 metres long, had been in the area where the boy said the incident occurred.

"There was a big flattened area, a flattened grass path, and snake tracks down by the (nearby) river. In my opinion, with 26 years of experience with reptiles, this did happen."

There has been no sign of the snake since the alleged incident on Sunday.

Smith said they were still trying to track down the mother of the missing child, adding that a missing persons report had "definitely been filed" despite police reports to the contrary.

African rock pythons occur in sub-Saharan Africa, can grow up to 8.5 metres long and usually feed on monkeys, pigs, deer, small apes and birds.

Smith said it was extremely unusual for African rock pythons, which are common in the Durban area, to eat people, but added: "In this case, maybe it was very hungry coming out of winter. They are opportunistic eaters. They eat any warm-blooded animal."

[Ciexyz]

This reminds me of the "dingo murder" a number of years ago. A husband and wife claimed that a dingo, a wild dog in the Outback, grabbed their baby and ate it. All that was found was a bloody baby outfit. The wife was convicted of murder but the sentence was later overturned. A movie starring Sam Neill was made about the case.

[Waco]

Johnny Cash got swallowed by a snake once upon a time. (And sang a song about it.)

[thegreatbeast]

This kid wasn't eaten by a snake. He's in a meat shoppe in England is all!

[ContentiousObjector]

didn't national geographic find the childs remains on the outback while researching dingo's or something?

[davetex]

Damn you Rush Limbaugh, it's your fault!

[Ciexyz]

Didn't National Geographic find the child's remains....

Gosh I don't remember the details, just that the family was exonerated. It was agreed that it was indeed possible for a child to be snatched and killed by a dingo. But the family went thru hell for a number of years.

[reagan_fanatic]

Boys claim friend eaten by snake

...Film at 11

[seams2me]

CRIKEY! Well, that'll teach 'em to go pokin' him with a stick, won't it! They get downright CRANKY when do that, grumpy little critters!

[Captainpaintball]

I'm being swallowed by a Boa Constrictor, and I don't like it very much!!!

Oh, no...He swallowed my toe!

Oh, gee...He's up to my knee!

Oh, fiddle...he's up to my middle!

Oh, heck... He's up to my neck!

Oh dread... He's up to my--(Gulp!)

[ApesForEvolution]

That's its own 'hold muh beer' thread if ever there was one! Oh, the sheer idiocy of some people.

[Tired of Taxes]

The comments here are terrible. Remember, you're all talking about a young child who was killed by a snake.

[Digger]

I gets to be a joke after posting this at least four times today.

[TruthWillWin]

If this really did happen I wonder whose side PETA would be on?

[<1/1,000,000th%]

In other news, a Tawian court rules that being eaten by a snake is not sex.

[sadimgnik]

didn't national geographic find the childs remains on the outback while researching dingo's or something?

---

Nope.

Some of her clothes, yes, but not her body.

There is little doubt that there was human intervention in the disposal of Baby Azaria's remains ... but there is EVEN LESS doubt that the baby was, in fact, taken by a dingo in the first instance.

The way we treated the Chamberlains was shameful - and I say that as one who was convinced of Lindy Chamberlain's guilt until the ineptitude of the Northern Territory Police was shown. (*)

For details, see http://www.arts.usyd.edu.au/departs/religion/Mythoz/Azaria.pdf or http://www.crimelibrary.com/forensics/serology/6.htm

NB .. in the first link, the 'dismembered torana' is the car that was taken apart by the NT police.

The police claimed to have found a spray of blood in in the front, where the passenger sat. They said that's where Lindy Chamberlain cut Baby Azaria's throat.

It later turned out to be noise-deadening paint.

[sigh]

Regards

GraC

(*) This case is one reason why I oppose the death penalty.

I was convinced of Lindy Chamberlain's guilt, and would cheerfully have seen her hang - but then found out I was wrong.

[ContentiousObjector]

did she realistically face the death penalty or was it academic?

I know Australia formally abolished in 1986, but the last execution was in 1967, was it suspended in the interm or simply not carried out

Was her case a rally point for abolishion like Derick Bently's hanging in England was?

[sadimgnik]

did she realistically face the death penalty or was it academic?
I know Australia formally abolished in 1986, but the last execution was in 1967, was it suspended in the interm or simply not carried out

---

Naah, there was neVer any chance of her actually being hanged.

The Ryan case .. the last execution in Australia ... was so controversial that no Aussie government would have even contemplated such a move.

Ryan was a nasty piece of work ... but there is serious doubt about whether he actually fired the shot that killed a prison officer.

It was probably fired by another prison guard, who later admitted he shot at Ryan during an escape attempt .. and missed.

However, if we hadn't effectively abolished the penalty by the time of Azaria's death, there's little doubt that Lindy Chamberlain would have been a prime candidate for the gibbet.

Which just goes to show ....

Sadim

[JSteff]

Ease up, for now it is only "allegedly" killed by a snake....