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Security footage circulated on social media showed people waving pythons around in a Tennessee gas station in an apparent attempt to steal cannabis oil. Employees reported seeing the group of snake-wielding men and women inside the Citgo truck stop on Highway 138 in Denmark, a small town roughly 75 miles outside of Memphis. The Madison County Sheriff's Office, which provided photos of the March 4 incident, said the suspects were holding two pythons and stole about $400 worth of CBD oil, WREG reported. The video showed the men placing the snakes on the counter. One was completely coiled up, while...

From curious hedgehogs to beautiful butterflies, gardens across the UK are regularly frequented by animals. But scientists have issued an urgent warning to gardeners, amid an influx of secret stowaways. Researchers from the University of Cambridge say that invasive species including snakes and lizards are slipping unnoticed into Britain in shipments of cut flowers and potted plants. Continental European snakes, geckos and Italian wall lizards are among the animals making their way over in potted olive trees destined for gardens and green spaces, according to the study. Worryingly, these creatures can cause extensive damage to food crops and the native...

Snakes rank among Americans’ top animal phobias, and are among the most disliked animals globally. A new study from North Carolina State University finds that the dislike of snakes is subconscious and, to some extent, learned. “Snakes are important,” said the study’s first author Audrey Vaughn, a former graduate student at NC State. “They serve as both important predators and sources of prey for other wildlife. They can also serve as important ecological indicators. This disdain that people have for them is something that impacts our ability to make sure they are well conserved. That in and of itself...

About 1.8 million people worldwide are bitten by snakes each year. Of those, up to 138,000 die and another 400,000 end up with permanent scarring and disability. Many cobras have tissue-damaging venoms that can't be treated with current antivenoms. We have discovered that cheap, readily available blood-thinning medications can be repurposed as antidotes for these venoms. Using CRISPR gene-editing technology we learned more about how these venoms attack our cells, and found out that a common class of drugs called heparinoids can protect tissue from the venom. Our research is published today in Science Translational Medicine. Snakebites are a serious...

Well, It’s true; some snakes are indeed capable of eating humans. The only snakes on the earth that can swallow and digest a human are African rock pythons, Burmese pythons, green anacondas, and reticulated pythons. Each of these four snakes will be discussed in detail, along with information about their habitats, frequency of human predation, and other relevant details.

The Ayeyarwady pit viper, a new species discovered in Myanmar by Dr. Chan Kin Onn, illustrates the complexities of species differentiation in pit vipers. This species, which displays traits of both the redtail and mangrove pit vipers, was initially thought to be a hybrid but was confirmed as distinct through genomic analysis. Credit: Wolfgang Wüster Finding and describing new species can be a tricky endeavor. Scientists typically look for distinctive characters that can differentiate one species from another. However, variation is a continuum that is not always easy to quantify. At one extreme, multiple species can look alike even though...

A homeless man wearing women's clothes intentionally rammed his car into the side of a county jail in Florida Monday night, before reportedly embarking on a rant about Donald Trump. Joseph Leedy, 40, stands accused of four counts of aggravated assault on an officer and one count of criminal mischief resulting in damage of more than $1,000 as a result - as a series of photos show the damage he caused. Surveillance footage show the suspect driving from the Martin County Jail parking lot, up the walkway, and through it glass lobby doors. He was stopped by a set of...

9. Coachwhip — 8.5 feet A long snake with an unusual appearance is the coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum), which is named because it looks like a braided coachwhip. The nominotypical subspecies — the eastern coachwhip — typically has a black head and neck but their color gradually lightens to tan at their tail. They are also the longest subspecies and can reach 8.5 feet long. Coachwhips live in the southern region of the US and inhabit fields, prairies, and open forests. They are diurnal and prey on a variety of birds, rodents, and lizards. They are ambush predators but are not...

Two German tourists became lost in their four-wheel-drive vehicle in a remote part of Cape York after trusting Google Maps. They ended up having to camp for about a week before walking out to safety. What's next?: The pair are safe, but local rangers say it could have been so much worse and are warning people to take care. Two young men are lucky to be alive after walking for several days in the Cape York wilderness when their car became bogged after they followed Google Maps directions. German tourists Philipp Maier and Marcel Schoene left Cairns on February 4...

Russia will develop ties with North Korea in all areas building on agreements between their leaders in September, the Kremlin said on Monday, as their foreign ministers were set to meet in Moscow. North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui arrived on Sunday on a rare visit to Moscow for talks with her counterpart Sergei Lavrov as the two countries deepen economic, political, and military ties, the North's state news agency KCNA said. As Russia's international isolation has grown over its war in Ukraine, analysts say Moscow has seen increasing value in its ties with North Korea. For North Korea's...

A highly venomous snake interrupted play during Dominic Thiem's victory against James McCabe at the Brisbane International qualifying event. Former US Open champion Thiem was a set down to Australian McCabe when the snake was spotted near the courtside electrical wires. A 40-minute break in play followed while the reptile was safely removed by a professional snake catcher. "I really love animals, especially exotic ones," Thiem said afterwards. "But they said it was a really poisonous snake and it was close to the ball kids, so it was a really dangerous situation. "It's something that has never happened to me...

As you sit there mulling a retirement in the South, approximately 1,000 people are already on their way to Florida today with all their household belongings. Should you join them?Like many baby boomers approaching retirement age and hunting for a warmer climate to call home in their golden years, my wife and I scouted cities and towns in Florida for a possible landing pad — so I had some skin in the game (we decided on elsewhere).But Florida isn’t all about the beaches, Disney World and the massive retirement community known as The Villages. I interviewed experts and residents for...

American company Pizza Hut has teamed up with a century-old Hong Kong restaurant to put a modern spin on a traditional dish, or more simply, snake on a pizza. The new offering combines shredded snake meat, black mushrooms and Chinese dried ham – all indispensable ingredients of an authentic snake stew and part of the Hong Kong franchise’s marketing plot to generate buzz online. Some diners in Hong Kong and around southern China have long enjoyed snake stew, especially during the colder months.

The crashed plane’s wing jetted out of the alligator and python-invested swamps of the Everglades just long enough for the pilot to survive. . OKEECHOBEE, FLORIDA — After nine hours waiting on the wing of his downed plane in the Florida Everglades, a pilot was rescued by Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue. He was the only person aboard. The plane was registered to a flight school in Homestead, Florida but the school called 911 after they lost contact with the pilot. The plane was a single-engine Cessna Skyhawk 172M that began experiencing trouble close to I-75 in South Broward County. A...

In a remarkable feat, a determined Floridian embarked on a mission to hunt down invasive Burmese pythons lurking within the vast expanse of the Big Cypress National Preserve. Little did he know that his unwavering pursuit would lead him to a monumental discovery - the capture of the longest Burmese python ever recorded in the state of Florida, and quite possibly the longest python ever documented. The 22-year-old hunter's wrestling match with the colossal python was captured on camera, showcasing the bravery and determination of the young man. A group of courageous individuals valiantly assisted in subduing the creature, their...

A magnetic resonance image of the patient's brain led doctors at Canberra Hospital and Australian National University to conduct a biopsy during which they found and removed a live third-stage larval roundworm from her right frontal lobe. Photo by EPA-EFE/Australia National University. Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Surgeons in Australia pulled a live 3-inch-long parasitic worm from the front of a woman's brain in what is believed to be the first time this type of infection has been found in humans. Doctors in Canberra found the light red worm during a biopsy they were carrying out on the patient in a...

A snake eating its own tail has been a symbol of infinity since ancient times. But seeing an illustration of this concept is nothing like witnessing the real-life horror. On rare occasions, mostly cataloged in captivity, a snake really can swallow its own tail. As the reptile guzzles back more and more of its body, the emblem of eternity quickly becomes a spiral of death. If the snake's owner does not intervene, its digestive fluids may start breaking down its own body. Some captive snakes that make a habit of eating themselves show damage on their scales from their acidic...

A snake fell out of the sky and landed on a woman mowing her yard. The bizarre incident didn’t stop there. Peggy Jones was then attacked by a hawk. Jones was on her tractor mowing at her home in Silsbee, near Beaumont on Tuesday afternoon. She describes how suddenly a snake fell on her, wrapping around her arm. “The snake was squeezing so hard, and I was waving my arms in the air. And then, this hawk was swooping down clawing at my arm over and over,” explains Peggy Jones. “I just kept saying, ‘Help me, Jesus, Help me, Jesus.’’

This is the shocking moment a snake hunter wrestled a 19ft Burmese python said to be the longest ever found in the US. The video, taken in the Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida, shows snake hunter Jake Waleri, 22, grab the 125lb python by the neck after it lunges at him with opens jaws. Mr Waleri grapples with the python, which is as long as an adult giraffe is tall, and wrestles it to the ground as onlookers exclaim: 'Oh my God! Let's go!' Another man asks: 'Have you got tape on you, I know you carry tape,' as they...

Burmese pythons are killing off mammals that would normally keep Florida's rat population in check. A new study found that parts of the Florida Everglades were becoming overrun with rats as a result. It may be good news for the cotton rats, but it could spell serious danger for humans. Florida's Burmese pythons have been known to prey on birds, reptiles, deer, and even alligators. But one thing they don't seem to have a taste for is cotton rats. And the rats are thriving because of it. ... cotton rats "dominate the community" in parts of the Florida Everglades where...