Animals, features and articles | Educational Science

Oct 5, 2017

Man v. Snake: 26-Foot-Long Python Loses Epic Battle

A village in Indonesia enjoyed a snake-meat feast this weekend after a resident wrestled and killed a 26-foot-long (7.8 meters) python. The python was of the species Malopython reticulatus, said Donal Boyer, the curator of herpetology at the Wildlife Conservation Society. Also known as the reticulated python, the snake is...

Nov 9, 2017

Pet Snake Nearly Kills Teen: Why the Inland Taipan Is So Deadly

An Australian teenager was left fighting for his life after being bitten by his pet inland taipan, one of the most dangerous snake species in the world, according to news reports. The teen was attempting to put the pet snake back into its enclosure, when it lashed out and bit...

Dec 12, 2017

Just How Rare Is That Giant Python Captured in the Everglades?

A snake hunter caught a 17-foot-1-inch-long (5 meters) Burmese python near the Big Cypres National Preserve in the Everglades on Dec. 1, breaking the record for the largest python captured as part of the South Florida Water Management District's python-elimination program. But although the slithering beast was a giant —...

Feb 2, 2018

The King (Cobra) Is Dead (and So Is the Python)

Judging by the interlocked combatants' bodies, no quarter was given in the final minutes of this deadly struggle. Captured in a dramatic photo shared yesterday (Feb. 1) to Imgur, a grim scene hints at a violent battle to the death between two giant snakes, identified in the caption as a...

Mar 2, 2018

Unfortunate Python Paid 'Deerly' for a Too-Big Meal

Oh, deer. A hungry Burmese python in Florida gulped down a white-tailed deer that proved to be a little more than the snake could handle — the hapless prey weighed more than its predator. Biologists with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida (CSF) found the 11-foot-long (3 meters) python in Collier-Seminole...

Mar 16, 2018

Pythons Are Cold-Blooded Killers, But At Least They're Not Negligent Mothers

Snakes get a bad rap — stories from the Bible to Harry Potter paint serpents as deceitful, unfeeling or downright evil. But perhaps that's only because we don't know them well enough; as it turns out, snakes can be caring and attentive mothers. A new study recently described how southern...

Jun 7, 2018

Decapitated Snake Head Bites Man. But How?

Shortly after a man killed a rattlesnake in his backyard, the rattlesnake's severed head bit and injected venom into the man, seriously injuring him, according to news reports. The zombie-like incident happened when Jennifer Sutcliffe and her husband were working in their backyard near Corpus Christi, Texas, over Memorial Day...

Jun 14, 2018

These Gourmet Snakes Prefer to Eat Snails

There's something strange about the five newly discovered snakes in Ecuador: Unlike most snakes that dine on rats, lizards and other small animals, these slithery reptiles eat snails. And that's pretty much all these snakes can eat. There are now 75 known species of snail-eaters, according to a new study...

Jun 19, 2018

How a Python Ate a Woman Whole and Left Hardly a Trace of the Fierce Attack

News of a pickup-truck-size reticulated python killing and swallowing a woman whole in central Indonesia, eating even her clothes, has made headlines around the world. But how often do these snakes eat people? Very infrequently, it turns out. In natural environments, it's incredibly rare, said David Penning, an assistant professor...

Aug 29, 2018

An 18-Foot Fugitive Python Is on the Loose in Poland

For nearly two months, a slippery fugitive has evaded capture in the Polish countryside. Nicknamed Bertha, she followed a serpentine path to escape her seekers' best efforts. You might say that she slithered right through her would-be captors' hands. Bertha is a rogue Indian python (Python molurus molurus), though few...

Aug 30, 2018

Newly Discovered Hybrid Pythons Could Threaten Florida's Everglades

New hybrid pythons discovered in southern Florida could be stronger and more adaptable to their environment than their nonhybrid relatives. The curious pythons are, genetically speaking, mostly Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus). These snakes were first brought to Florida as exotic pets, and were introduced into the state's wilderness in the...

Sep 24, 2018

Two-Headed Viper Could End Up in Virginia Zoo — If It Stops Fighting with Itself

It's said that each of us is his or her own worst enemy. That's especially true when you're a hungry, venomous snake with two heads. One such snake — a baby, two-headed copperhead — was recently discovered slithering around a family's yard in northern Virginia. According to a statement from...

Sep 26, 2018

These Venomous Snakes Travel by Hitchhiking on Planes

This story was updated at 4:31 p.m. ET on Sept. 28. The brown tree snake is a stealthy, international traveler. Invasive to Guam, the snake species, Boiga irregularis, first arrived on the Pacific island during World War II, most likely by hitchhiking on troop carriers from Australia, according to a...

Nov 8, 2018

Bounty Hunter Kills Gargantuan Burmese Python, Gets $375, Earns Our Undying Gratitude

There are snakes, and then there are SSSSNNNNAAAAAAAAKES!!!! Florida resident and professional python bounty hunter Kyle Penniston caught and killed one such SSSSNNNNAAAAAAAAKE earlier this week in the Florida Everglades, according to a news release from the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD). The gargantuan Burmese python measured 17 feet...

Jan 15, 2019

So Many Ticks Were Feasting on This Unlucky Python, They Looked Like Living Scales

When Tony Harrison with Gold Coast and Brisbane Snake Catcher attempted to retrieve the snake from a swimming pool, he noticed that the partly submerged serpent was blanketed in more ticks than Harrison could count, he said on Jan. 9 in a post shared on Facebook. I figured it to...