Massive python ‘drags' young boy in terrifying attack

[Flaviemys purvisi]

Yep never underestimate someone's strength and ability when charged full of adrenalin in what they perceive as a life or death situation... and again... regardless of what you think and break down in hindsight... the fact still remains that in these instances 9/10 people will do exactly what this bloke did... and if he himself had to do this over again... he'd do the same thing... your argument is pointless. Your tips are great for getting the python to release its grip on a child bitten on the hand by a non life threatening perthensis or children's or small carpet. Scaled up to a scrubby though no average person is taking chances. Fight or flight will always come to the forefront... not preservation of the attacking creature.

 

[user 23122]

Not sure what you pairare actually arguing about this time but I agree with both your posts yes he should have grabbed some alcohol and tipped it on the scrubbies head but 9/10 parents seeing their child grabbed by a warm hungry serpent late in the arvo wouldn’t myself included if that was my kid I would have chopped it’s head off in cold blood

 

[Flaviemys purvisi]

I'm not arguing I'm just stating a fact that whilst the tips and advice given by cement is undoubtedly in the best interests for the python... nobody acts like that in those situations and it's easy to sit back and criticise someone's actions after the fact ... if it was me and my kid or dog or whatever, that python would look like it was hit by an intercontinatal ballistic missile by the time I was done with it... it'd barely be identifiable... like it or lump it, that's reality.. humans are a selfish species.

 

[Sdaji]

Ding ding ding!

So who won? (other than the guy who sells popcorn, who is off to buy a new white Porche convertible)

 

[Flaviemys purvisi]

Hehe jokes aside... There's no winners when a nice big scrubby is dead and a child has probably been traumatised for life and will most likely grow up a snake killer.

 

[Sdaji]

Hehe jokes aside... There's no winners when a nice big scrubby is dead and a child has probably been traumatised for life and will most likely grow up a snake killer.

Haha, I meant between you and cement of course, but I'm pretty sure the dad and all his friends consider him and his son to be the winners, and the snake the loser.

The reality is that as an Australian male, being a snake killer is the default, so it's not like this experience was at all likely to have turned the kid into a snake killer; he was most likely already on that path. The experience just might make him take an interest in snakes which might lead to him learning and appreciating them. It does happen to some people who have this sort of encounter with something dangerous.

But yeah, most likely he'll either grow up and kill every snake he sees, as many men do, or he'll be too scared to go near them which is also pretty common.

 

[Flaviemys purvisi]

The experience just might make him take an interest in snakes which might lead to him learning and appreciating them. It does happen to some people who have this sort of encounter with something dangerous.

Yes indeed, I've seen it myself personally with those attacked by sharks while spear fishing. So yes there is hope.

 

[Sdaji]

Yes indeed, I've seen it myself personally with those attacked by sharks while spear fishing. So yes there is hope.

Yep, that sort of thing. I haven't known anyone personally who has been attacked by a shark but I've heard of stories of shark attack victims who have gone on to develop a lot of love for them. I've known people go through similar things with other animals. It'll be cool if this kid turns out like that.

 

[Flaviemys purvisi]

Yeah but knowing how these stories often escalate, the bloke and his family have probably already received hundreds of death threats online... Usually what happens. Everyone has an opinion and is compelled to voice it apparently even when it doesn't concern them at all.

 

[Sdaji]

Yep, that's absolutely true, I'm sure they have received plenty of abuse from herpers, which of course will make them hate herpers and encourage them to kill more snakes.

The usual suspects will probably have reported them to the police and RSPCA (which of course will make a few staff and officers roll their eyes and do nothing else). Angry herpers will tell them that it's illegal (which is untrue, it was 100% legal for them to kill this snake) which of course will further encourage them to kill more snakes.

Most of the triggered people can't see the ironic reality that their actions are hurting their own cause. In otherways I'm probably guilty of that too sometimes.

 

[Flaviemys purvisi]

Yep, that's absolutely true, I'm sure they have received plenty of abuse from herpers, which of course will make them hate herpers and encourage them to kill more snakes.

The usual suspects will probably have reported them to the police and RSPCA (which of course will make a few staff and officers roll their eyes and do nothing else). Angry herpers will tell them that it's illegal (which is untrue, it was 100% legal for them to kill this snake) which of course will further encourage them to kill more snakes.

Exactly right.

Most of the triggered people can't see the ironic reality that their actions are hurting their own cause.

And the most obvious example of this lately is the Animal rights / Vegan protesters and climate change alarmists gluing themselves to the Brisbane CBD and just P***ing everyone off to no end.

 

[Yellowtail]

I have a 20 year old bottle of Russian vodka alongside the fire extinguishers in my snake room mainly as a way of getting a feeding frenzy bite released without injuring the animal or leaving it's teeth in me. Because I am mostly working with my snakes alone I no longer keep big scrubbies or olives and being 30 mins from an ambulance and 45mins from a hospital and no place for a chopper to land nearby I gave up keeping vens.
As for the subject of this thread no one is more against the senseless killing of our native animals than me, there are a lot of holes in that story and no doubt the poor animal was battered to death after the danger had passed.
Having just purchased the property I wonder if the family were aware of the potential hazards of Nth Qld wildlife, you don't pat cassowary, pose for selfies with big crocs, swim with box jellyfish or let small children and especially small dogs wander unsupervised along narrow paths where big pythons can take up ambush positions. Their reaction was to get rid of the beautiful plants that were probably one of the attractive features of the property. The pathway was likely used by local animals, pythons pick up the scent trails and lay in ambush positions, it would have detected the heat image and attacked the erratic movements of the boys legs, had it been a regular prey animal the python would have taken the head and immediately wrapped the animal.

 

[Flaviemys purvisi]

Problem is Ken, you're projecting yourself into the shoes and situations of others with all the knowledge and experience you have... It doesn't work like that in reality.

 

[Nero Egernia]

@Nero Egernia , was it this one? I hope it will open

https://www.facebook.com/296513457657678/posts/489117115063977/?d=n

That's the one. It works for me, at least.

 

[-Adam-]

That facebook post attacking the father is very unfortunate. It saddens me as I can only see that it serves to create division and cause anger and hurt. Calling for the father to be charged for protecting their child in the best way they knew at a time that would have been extremely stressful is only going to make herpers look unsympathetic.

"Hey - so sorry to hear what happened but so glad to hear that the kid is going to be OK! FWIW as an experienced snake handler - here's a helpful tip: a bottle of booze may be more effective at getting the snake to back down and may also reduce the physical trauma on the victim as well in getting a python to release itself" is a world away from "What he did was wrong and he should be charged!". One is showing concern whilst providing helpful advise (that benefits both sides), the other comes across as being unsympathetic and hateful. Even if both of them try to get a point across of a better way of dealing with it - only the former approach would actually have that chance. It also not only attacks the family as they're trying to recover from a traumatic situation - it would serve to push away the majority of others that would be emphathising with that family. I'm hoping not many outside of the herpers world actually read it because this sort of division is what reporters love to get an interview of - for controversy to get raitings and raise people's emotions which would not serve us well.

The father had to act in a short moment with the horror thought of the possibility of their child being dragged away by a python. The facebook poster had plenty of time to consider their response over as much time as they needed in the comfort of their home or wherever they were with no immediate danger to themselves or loved ones. I know which action I see as being more damaging to the future welfare of pythons.

I am curious though (not sure if it's appropriate for this thread, or whether I should create a dedicated topic for it) - but what is the go with rogue or abnormal behaviour? Do snakes always act within the bounds of what we understand to be their instincts, or in rare circumstances could a python act abnormal to a point that mirrors something that relates to what the reporter wrote in this story? Has anyone here witnessed their own herp's act in a way outside of the norm?

Obviously the facebook writer takes the stance that it's not possible as they appear to give no benefit of doubt to the father that a python could react in any other way except what they believe is normal - but I'm just wondering where other Herpers stand and what they have experienced?

 

[Sdaji]

That facebook post attacking the father is very unfortunate. It saddens me as I can only see that it serves to create division and cause anger and hurt. Calling for the father to be charged for protecting their child in the best way they knew at a time that would have been extremely stressful is only going to make herpers look unsympathetic.

"Hey - so sorry to hear what happened but so glad to hear that the kid is going to be OK! FWIW as an experienced snake handler - here's a helpful tip: a bottle of booze may be more effective at getting the snake to back down and may also reduce the physical trauma on the victim as well in getting a python to release itself" is a world away from "What he did was wrong and he should be charged!". One is showing concern whilst providing helpful advise (that benefits both sides), the other comes across as being unsympathetic and hateful. Even if both of them try to get a point across of a better way of dealing with it - only the former approach would actually have that chance. It also not only attacks the family as they're trying to recover from a traumatic situation - it would serve to push away the majority of others that would be emphathising with that family. I'm hoping not many outside of the herpers world actually read it because this sort of division is what reporters love to get an interview of - for controversy to get raitings and raise people's emotions which would not serve us well.

The father had to act in a short moment with the horror thought of the possibility of their child being dragged away by a python. The facebook poster had plenty of time to consider their response over as much time as they needed in the comfort of their home or wherever they were with no immediate danger to themselves or loved ones. I know which action I see as being more damaging to the future welfare of pythons.

I am curious though (not sure if it's appropriate for this thread, or whether I should create a dedicated topic for it) - but what is the go with rogue or abnormal behaviour? Do snakes always act within the bounds of what we understand to be their instincts, or in rare circumstances could a python act abnormal to a point that mirrors something that relates to what the reporter wrote in this story? Has anyone here witnessed their own herp's act in a way outside of the norm?

Obviously the facebook writer takes the stance that it's not possible as they appear to give no benefit of doubt to the father that a python could react in any other way except what they believe is normal - but I'm just wondering where other Herpers stand and what they have experienced?

Your first 3 paragraphs here are utterly spot on.

As for your question, yes, seems appropriate to discuss here, but I'm not exactly sure what you're asking. Yes, definitely, snakes do sometimes act in abnormal ways. What abnormal behaviour are you referring to? If it's the snake attempting to drag the kid into the bushes, I think most likely this was the father just misinterpreting what he was seeing or imagining things, but it doesn't seem to be especially relevant. Snakes will sometimes grab something then take it somewhere else to eat it, but it's possible that the posterior of the snake was anchored to a tree or something, the snake had bitten and latched on to the kid's leg, and it's possible the snake was attempting to constrict him, and being a large prey item, it would have been difficult. When constricting, a snake's length effectively shortens, so the prey is usually moved towards whatever the tail is anchored to. This means it's likely the snake appeared to be attempting to drag him to the bushes, or perhaps it was even succeeding a little.

It's not terribly unusual for a snake to attack something, the prey fighting back, escaping, and the snake making another attempt to catch it, sometimes successfully, sometimes not.

 

[-Adam-]

Thanks Sdaji,

True - when I reflect on a situation I once had in a stressful situation and then later saw video footage of the same - I was surprised by how my mind played tricks on me on the little things. I would have sworn that I heard sounds (like screeching tires) never showed up in the video - car actually had ABS , so I get how in times of emergencies it's quite possible that the recollection of the dad was not picture perfect. (Or just as likely if not more that the reporter reported differently to what was mentioned - or a combination of both).

My question though was more about snakes changing their behaviour. I've heard that other predators have been known to do things very abnormal to standard behaviour due to them being ill, injured or otherwise. My thought was probably dual based - one based on the story here, and secondly / more curiously what 'strange tales' some Herp owners may have that were out of the ordinary (and if known - the reasons why the acted that way if there was an exception such as illness, etc)? It tied in with the possibility that the reported behaviour of this snake seemed out of the norm to some - but not exclusively about it. Maybe better for another day/another thread.

 

[Sdaji]

Oh, right, talking about other cases might be a bit off topic.

But yeah, people typically do have perception warping in extreme situations. When people who get mugged are interviewed they consistently believe the knife or gun was much larger than it actually was, people who are assaulted believe their attacker was larger than they were, etc. With snakes stories there is often additional lying due to the wanker factor, but even when people are giving their honest recollection for helping to find their attacker etc, they make these exaggerations about various details.

 

[cement]

Yep never underestimate someone's strength and ability when charged full of adrenalin in what they perceive as a life or death situation... and again... regardless of what you think and break down in hindsight... the fact still remains that in these instances 9/10 people will do exactly what this bloke did... and if he himself had to do this over again... he'd do the same thing... your argument is pointless. Your tips are great for getting the python to release its grip on a child bitten on the hand by a non life threatening perthensis or children's or small carpet. Scaled up to a scrubby though no average person is taking chances. Fight or flight will always come to the forefront... not preservation of the attacking creature.

"Yep never underestimate someone's strength and ability when charged full of adrenalin in what they perceive as a life or death situation... and again... regardless of what you think and break down in hindsight... the fact still remains that in these instances 9/10 people will do exactly what this bloke did... and if he himself had to do this over again... he'd do the same thing.."------

Ok, so I'll spell it out to again in really simple basic terms that I hope an individual with your IQ will understand.
This is an effort to try to get you to stop your bulls**t,

Where do I, at any point anywhere, say that what he did was, in my opinion wrong, or not typical??

"your argument is pointless."------- ??? Where is the evidence in what I originally posted, that I am arguing???

"Your tips are great for getting the python to release its grip on a child bitten on the hand by a non life threatening perthensis or children's or small carpet."------
This is a very disappointing comment. My tips?? As it turns out another keeper here with enough genuine experience to have my respect, has used the same method. I bet he would also collaborate with me when I say it works on ANY python. It works very quickly, much quicker than trying to manhandle a 5m scrubby OFF a prey item. I've said it before to you Flavie...whoever, DON'T GIVE ADVICE ON ANIMALS YOU KNOW FA ABOUT!!


"Scaled up to a scrubby though no average person is taking chances. Fight or flight will always come to the forefront... not preservation of the attacking creature.[/QUOTE]"---
My point is, this method, doesn't matter if its an anteresia, BHP or a scrubby, or an olive, or a woma, or a carpet, or any species of python, I am putting forward a technique for removal of ANY python..... thats all........a method that works and many experienced keepers use it. I am not debating a member of publics reaction to a stress scenario.


Sdaji -"-With snakes stories there is often additional lying due to the wanker factor," ---- Lol! I love this quote!! There certainly is, like somebody saying they lived among snakes! hahahahhahahahhaha!!!


So there it is, flaviem...whatever,. I hope you can go back and maybe use a bit of your own hindsight (if you allow yourself) and re-read my original post and ask yourself, where is the argument ?? Would you like to continue with your crap? I may not get back for a few days though. You know.... real world responsibilities and all.

 

[Flaviemys purvisi]

Cement.... your overly long pointless posts are not even worth my time of day, especially today... Don't waste your time bothering as all you can do is name call and make half hearted attempts to insult me which shows you're grasping at straws. Lol. I'm not even going to read it. As I said, criticise the bloke all you want, your comments, opinions and insights and what you would do in that situation amount to absolutely nothing in the real world. No one is going to do what you suggest in thst situation regardless of how good you think both the advice and you are - end of story. lol. I've said it before and I'll say it again... slower for you... D o n ' t m a k e a s s u m p t I o n s a b o u t p e o p l e y o u k n o w n o t h I n g a b o u t - including me.
Merry Christmas big fella.