Snakes on a Plane!

[KrazyHorse]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/05/24/egypt.snakes.ap/index.html

Man with 700 snakes arrested at airport

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- Customs officers at Cairo's airport have detained a man bound for Saudi Arabia who was trying to smuggle 700 live snakes on a plane, airport authorities said.

The officers were stunned when a passenger, identified as Yahia Rahim Tulba, told them his carryon bag contained live snakes after he was asked to open it.

Tulba opened his bag to show the snakes to the police and asked the officers, who held a safe distance, not to come close. Among the various snakes, hidden in small cloth sacks, were two poisonous cobras, authorities said.

The Egyptian said he had hoped to sell the snakes in Saudi Arabia. Police confiscated the snakes and turned Tulba over to the prosecutor's office, accusing him of violating export laws and endangering the lives of other passengers.

According to the customs officials, Tulba claimed the snakes are wanted by Saudis who display them in glass jars in shops, keep them as pets or sell them to research centers.

The value of the snakes was not immediately known.

[Kuciwalker]

[KrazyHorse]

Also, Gator in a Snake in a Swamp!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4313978.stm

Snake bursts after gobbling gator

An unusual clash between a 6-foot (1.8m) alligator and a 13-foot (3.9m) python has left two of the deadliest predators dead in Florida's swamps.

The Burmese python tried to swallow its fearsome rival whole but then exploded.

The remains of the two giant reptiles were found by astonished rangers in the Everglades National Park.

The rangers say the find suggests that non-native Burmese pythons might even challenge alligators' leading position in the food chain in the swamps.

The python's remains were found with the victim's tail protruding from its burst midsection. The head of the python was missing.

"Encounters like that are almost never seen in the wild... And here we are," Frank Mazzotti, a University of Florida wildlife professor, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.

"They were probably evenly matched in size. If the python got a good grip on the alligator before the alligator got a good grip on him, he could win," Professor Mazzotti said.

He said the alligator may have clawed at the python's stomach, leading it to burst.

"Clearly, if they can kill an alligator they can kill other species," Prof Mazzotti said.

He said that there had been four known encounters between the two species in the past. In the other cases, the alligator won or the battle was an apparent draw.

Burmese pythons - many of whom have been dumped by their owners - have thrived in the wet and hot climate of Florida's swamps over the past 20 years.

[Kuciwalker]

The Burmese python tried to swallow its fearsome rival whole but then exploded.

THAT IS AWESOME

[KrazyHorse]

I KNOW

[Kuciwalker]

JUST CHECKING

[Cort Haus]

KH beat me to the exploding snake. Incredible story.

[KrazyHorse]

He said that there had been four known encounters between the two species in the past. In the other cases, the alligator won or the battle was an apparent draw.

WE NEED BETTER STATISTICS

[Koyaanisqatsi]

It's Florida. That's as solid as the statistics get.

[KrazyHorse]

I also mean that we need a larger sample size.

[KrazyHorse]

A few weeks ago I watched a snake eat its way up another snake from head to tail on the Discovery Channel.

That was awesome, but not so awesome as this.

[LordShiva]

Originally posted by Cort Haus
KH beat me to the exploding snake. Incredible story.

You're slow, given how old the story is.

[KrazyHorse]

For some reason it shows up on the current "most emailed" list from the BBC

[Jon Miller]

I remember snake vs croc. I dont' remember exploding snake.

Of course, I have discovered things late before.

And it was a long time before I accidently saw goats.cx (towards the end of the popularity of fake linking of that image, in fact)

JM

[LordShiva]

It's like that Sudanese goat story.