Depending on the python, I think not. I was visiting the everglades this winter, and in the presentation by the park service people, they mentioned the problem they’re having with pythons that have been turned loose by owners. The everglades is just their kind of place. The park guy said that the incidence of game from deer down to rodents is so low that they’re rarely seen anymore. It’s attributed to these snakes.
I can see a python killing one kid, easily. I’ve seen stories on adults being killed by their pet pythons ... if one gets the right hold and pins your arms or is around the neck, say bye-bye. It’s the “two” in a row I’m having trouble with. They don’t usually kill, let go and move on .... they kill, hold on, and try to eat what they’ve killed. If the second kid was trying to help the first, maybe there would be a defensive strike and it would let go and coil the 2nd kid. Some pythons, like Rock pythons are very aggressive so I’ll be interested to see what it turns out to be. I’m still thinking there’s more to this.
Yes, pythons from Asia infested the Everglades after some hurricane and they “got loose.” And owners release them when they get tired of them. I lived on the edge of the Glades years ago; we’d occasionally see a rattler and perhaps even a gator would take a dip in our pool. Had to keep the cat indoors.
But these were rare occurrences. Now, pythons are wrecking the ecosystem, endangering the gorgeous Florida black panther and other native species. A real danger to nearby communities, and the communities are getting more and more “nearby,” as developers push onward into the glades. SouthFl is not a place I love anymore. Or even recognize.
I just got back from visiting the Everglades too and they say these nasty snakes are now on top of the food chain and they are even destroying the alligators. When an alligator lays eggs it lays hundreds with nature’s intent only a two or three make it to adulthood.
The pythons are attacking the young ones and sometimes the larger ones and killing them off. Those snakes have killed off most of the mammals that once inhabited the area. Really sad.
The article says it was a boa constrictor, which even full grown is a lot smaller than a giant Burmese python of the type that are causing problems in Florida.