BBC News: Africa

[Ms. Squirrel 11]

Oh dear!

Man bites snake in epic struggle

A Kenyan man bit a python who wrapped him in its coils and dragged him up a tree during a fierce three-hour struggle, police have told the BBC. The serpent seized farm worker Ben Nyaumbe in the Malindi area of Kenya's Indian Ocean coast at the weekend.

Mr Nyaumbe bit the snake on the tip of the tail during the exhausting battle in the village of Sabaki.

Police rescued Mr Nyaumbe and captured the 13ft (4m) reptile, before taking it to a sanctuary, but it later escaped. The victim told police he managed to reach his mobile phone from his pocket to raise the alarm when the python momentarily eased its grip after hauling him up a tree on Saturday evening. Mr Nyaumbe used his shirt to smother the snake's head and prevent it from swallowing him. His employer arrived with police and villagers, who tied the python with a rope and pulled them both down from the tree with a thud.

Peter Katam, superintendent of police in Malindi district, told the BBC News website: "Two officers on patrol were called and they found this man was struggling with a snake on a tree. "The snake had coiled his hands and was trying to swallow him but he struggled very hard. The officers and villagers managed to rescue him and he was freed. "He himself was injured on the lower lip of the mouth - it was bleeding a little bit - as the tip of the snake's tail was sharp when he said he bit it."

Mr Nyaumbe told the Daily Nation newspaper how he resorted to desperate measures after the python, which had apparently been hunting livestock, encircled his upper body in its coils. "I stepped on a spongy thing on the ground and suddenly my leg was entangled with the body of a huge python," he said. "I had to bite it."

'Very mysterious'

Supt Katam told the BBC the officers had wanted to shoot the snake but could not do so for fearing of injuring Mr Nyaumbe. "If it wasn't for the villagers and officers who helped him, he would have been swallowed by the snake over the Easter holiday," said Supt Katam. He added: "It's very mysterious, this ability to lift the man onto the tree. I've never heard of this before."

The police officer said they took the snake to a sanctuary in Malindi town but it escaped overnight, probably from a gap under the door in the room where it was kept. "We are still seriously looking for the snake," said Supt Katam. "We want to arrest the snake because any one of us could fall a victim."

Source: BBC News: Man bites python

[Nagishkaw 510]

Holy crow!

[JODO 2]

Oh my!

[almaty 19]

whoa, i see eric is missing....

seriously, he should not have guiven that snake this...

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

I've seen pythons carrying whole cows up the side of a cliff.

[JODO 2]

I've seen pythons carrying whole cows up the side of a cliff.

[Ms. Squirrel 11]

OH.MY.GAWD.

[almaty 19]

terrible..that pix needs to be deleted...

endorsed by:

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

[fozzie 41]

Good effort from the Kenyan.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

A 3 hour fight with a snake - I can't even imagine that.

"We want to arrest the snake..."

[Ms. Squirrel 11]

If it's making anyone feel better, the snake in Olivia's photo is not pulling up a cow, it's a Wallaroo.

Still, it's a big a$$ snake.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

It looks big enough to be a water buffalo which is what I was thinking but I see now.

[Ms. Squirrel 11]

It looks big enough to be a water buffalo which is what I was thinking but I see now.

I was looking for more nasty snake pics and came across a snopes like site, explaining that the pic was real and that it was not a cow but a wallaroo. It was taken in Australia and the snake tried to pull up the wallaroo for an hour and then gave up. The photo was published in all kind of magazines and was originally taken in 2005.

It's a fantastic shot, great colours.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Very kewl. Ya I stumbled upon it on the net and knew it was like Australian or that area because of the rock and I'd just seen an Australian snake video just like that snake sent to me via .wav file from my friend in Brazil. Both images are shocking.