Man Bites 13 Foot Python to Save His Life

by Swan | April 15, 2009 at 09:18 am

2306 views | 30 Recommendations | 5 comments

What would you do, if a 13' hungry python wrapped itself around you, then literally dragged you up a tree?

This is exactly what happened to Kenyan farm worker Ben Nyaumbe, living in the Malindi area of Kenya.

“I was preparing ugali at 7pm, close to the stable. I stood to pick a packet of flour when the water started boiling.

As I stood up, I stepped on a spongy thing on the ground and suddenly, my leg was entangled with the body of a huge python." [...]

"I would probably have struggled until I was too tired to fight anymore, yet Mr. Nyaumbe had the sense to bite the serpent on the tip of it's tail during a 1 hour exhaustive fight for his life." [ ...]

"It waggled its ragged and scary tail on my mouth. I had to bite it as I struggled, one hand incapacitated,"

Nyaumbe relayed the tale to authorities that he managed to reach his mobile phone in his pocket, just as the python relaxed it's grip at the top of the tree.

His employer contacted the police who arrived with a rope to pull them both out of the tree - hopefully the snake was able to break Nyaumbe's heavy fall to the ground.

Peter Katam, superintendent of police in Malindi district, had this to say:

"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.

When speaking with the Daily Nation newspaper, he told them that the python had probably been hunting livestock (such as goats) when it wrapped his upper body in it's coils.

The police officers were too frightened to shoot the snake, for fear of missing and killing Nyaumbe. Supt., Katam had this to say to the BBC:

"If it wasn't for the villagers and officers who helped him, he would have been swallowed by the snake over the Easter holiday," [...]

He added: "It's very mysterious, this ability to lift the man onto the tree. I've never heard of this before."

Once captured, it was stuffed into 3 sacks and taken to a sanctuary - however, it escaped and has not yet been recaptured.

Such an event would surely be the stuff of nightmares, for the surrounding villagers.

There are plenty of other deadly snakes in Kenya, both venomous and non-venomous.

The green mamba (Dendroaspis angusticeps) hunts and sleeps in trees, and will likely flee rather than engage anyone in a fight.
The black mamba looks threateningly predatory and is brown rather than black. Their name is actually derived from the blue-black color in the inside of their mouths, visible when threatened. They are fast, nervous, lethally venomous and highly aggressive.
Rock pythons are the largest snakes in Africa. They prey on adult impala or gazelles, filling their bellies for 3-6 months.
Python sebae is found in subsaharan Africa and is one of the world's largest species of snakes. Adults reach over 20' and are typically brown in color.
The most dangerous poisonous snake in all of Africa, is the puff adder (Bitis Arietans) - it is culpable for the majority of snake bites in all of Africa. This snake does not try to retreat when bothered, in fact it tends to bask in the sunshine of its own favorite footpaths.
Black Spitting Cobra, this name actually covers several species of cobra whose physiology allows them to spit venom when facing predators. While their poison is relatively harmless to humans (as long there are no cuts or open wounds) it will cause blindness if it spits and successfully reaches the eyes.
After all these aforementioned snakes, we have yet to consider the Black Mamba. It is the fastest and most feared snake in all of Africa. It is aggressive and will bite if threatened.
The snake that is probably the most recognized snake in the world, is the cobra. They are not only fast but they are also huge, having the ability to swim and climb trees.

Sources

BBC News
Man Bites Snake in Epic Trouble
[Uncredited]

Daily Nation
Man Bites Snake in Hour-long Battle to Survive
by Daniel Nyassy

Story of Africa
Snakes of Kenya
[Uncredited]

Image Sources

Story of Africa
Nairobi Snake Park - Green Mamba
[Uncredited]

Story of Africa
Nairobi Snake Park - Black Mamba
[Uncredited]

National Geographic
Animals - Black Mamba
by George Grall

Story of Africa
Nairobi Snake Park - Africa Rock Python
[Uncredited]

Story of Africa
Nairobi Snake Park - Puff Adder
[Uncredited]

Story of Africa
Nairobi Snake Park - Black Spitting Cobra
[Uncredited]

Story of Africa
Nairobi Snake Park - Black Mamba
[Uncredited]

Story of Africa
Forest Cobra - Kisumu Museum
[Uncredited]

Story of Africa
Forest Cobra - Kisumu Museum - Posing to attack
[Uncredited]

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Amy Judd

at 16:19 on April 15th, 2009

I cannot believe that a python would eat a person, do they normally? Is it a sign that their food source is getting scarce? This would truly be a nightmare of mine...

Swan

at 17:20 on April 15th, 2009

Hello Amy!

Yes, pythons tend to prey on small animals - usually species such as goats, sheep and calves. They have no way of telling when they scent us, whether we're animal or human - and frankly I don't think they would care anyway. **shiver**
~ Swan

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Amy Judd

at 17:24 on April 15th, 2009

True, it's just that a grown man would be so much bigger!

Amy Judd

at 16:21 on April 15th, 2009

Hmm, I found this:

Larger specimens usually eat animals about the size of a house cat, but larger food items are not unknown: some large Asian species have been known to take down adult deer, and the African rock python, Python sebae, has been known to eat gazelle. Prey is swallowed whole, and may take anywhere from several days or even weeks to fully digest. Despite their intimidating size and muscular power, they are generally not dangerous to humans.