Lot’s of bad things happen in Indonesia. Earthquakes, tsunamis from seismic activity under the sea-bed, and now giant pythons eating men whole.
A 23ft python reportedly did just that in the country earlier this year.
The horrifying incident has left many fascinated by the snakes — and whether incidents like that could happen elsewhere, including in Florida.
Discovery has a one-off tonight that features the Indonesian “incident” where Akbar Salubiro, a 25-year-old father of two on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia, went missing.
When the villagers searched for him, to their horror they found a massive python with a swollen belly.
They captured and killed the snake and taped their discovery on video as they sliced it open, only to find Akbar had been swallowed whole.
The graphic cell-phone footage from Indonesia proved that nature was as cruel and unforgiving as ever.
Hosted by Rob Nelson (Science Channel’s Secrets of the Underground), Man-Eating Python will delve into the science of python attacks and how we may be at risk.
Nelson consults with python experts to try and understand their power and how they could ingest a fully-grown person.
We will learn about snakes’ master camouflage, striking distance, quick bite and their shockingly powerful constricting power which traps victims who they then often swallow alive. Usually small mammals, but in Salubiro’s case, the exception was lethal.
People usually are not typical Python prey, but human proximity makes us a viable target. If they are encroached upon, pythons will attack.
The episode will also detail Salubiro’s final days, and Nelson heads to USA’s Python central, the Florida Everglades, where the snakes are flourishing thanks to people bringing them in the country illegally.
Man-Eating Python airs tonight at 10/9c on Discovery.