Snake Vs. Alligator

October 5, 2005 8:01 PM

Snake eats alligator, then explodes
posted by philcliff (78 comments total)

Hilarity ensues?
posted by mr_crash_davis at 8:14 PM on October 5, 2005

hey i'd probably explode to if I tried it. Alligators are big and snakes have big mouths but
pigeons are much more scary these days
posted by InternZ at 8:15 PM on October 5, 2005

I applaud the use of the "awesomeness" tag, as well as the "totallysweet" tag, and vow to use them in my own posts (provided they are suitably awesome and/or sweet).
posted by jonson at 8:18 PM on October 5, 2005

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

?????
posted by oliver_crunk at 8:18 PM on October 5, 2005

"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.

But if Superman got a good grip on either of them . . .
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 8:22 PM on October 5, 2005

I'll say, InternZ. I live in New York City, and the other day, I saw a pigeon eat an alligator and live.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 8:23 PM on October 5, 2005

Snake eats alligator, then explodes... on a plane!
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 8:25 PM on October 5, 2005 [1 favorite]

They couldn't find the head - clearly the alligator was a Scanner.
posted by birdsquared at 8:26 PM on October 5, 2005

A 13-foot python in Florida... think of how quickly that snake could gobble up a 4-foot-tall child... scary.
posted by clevershark at 8:30 PM on October 5, 2005

So did the official scorer put this one down as a tie or did he force the relatives to fight for the W?
posted by fenriq at 8:30 PM on October 5, 2005

I take back everything I ever said about one-off newsfilter threads. Wow.
posted by jessamyn at 8:35 PM on October 5, 2005

"The head of the python was missing."

-Where'd the head go?

I had a vision of a bizarre ourobouros/turducken situation and now I need a new keyboard. Thanks philcliff.

I also applaud the "alliagator" tag. Keeper.
posted by penciltopper at 8:36 PM on October 5, 2005

it's like i've heard ... one swallow does not a supper make
posted by pyramid termite at 8:38 PM on October 5, 2005

I think the official scorer didn't really care much, he walked away with a new pair of gator shoes, and a snake skin purse... double bonus for him
posted by InternZ at 8:39 PM on October 5, 2005

-Where'd the head go?

It EXPLODED.
posted by jimmy at 8:43 PM on October 5, 2005

Wow. Like an Aesop Fable in real life.

What would be the moral here?
posted by sourwookie at 8:44 PM on October 5, 2005

The alligator gets the win. The snake was clearly abusing performance enhancing drugs.
posted by oddman at 8:46 PM on October 5, 2005

The mere mention of exploding animals brings to mind an idea that a coworker had back in about 1996. He suggested that we gather together a whole bunch of mad cows from Britain, and then let them loose on the minefields of Bosnia, thereby killing two birds (and a tremendous number of cows) with one stone.

I thought it was pretty brilliant.

*moooooo!*
*KA-BLAM!*
*mooo! mooo! mooo!*
*BLAM! POW! KER-POW!* etc.
posted by Dr. Wu at 8:47 PM on October 5, 2005 [1 favorite]

YES. that was awesome.

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.

This is a war! We're missing the greatest war in history!
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 8:47 PM on October 5, 2005

Wait, there's no video?
posted by muckster at 9:03 PM on October 5, 2005

Where'd the head go?

I'm guessing another alligator nibbled it off while the python struggled with gastric distress.

I'm surprised the pythons have been able to flourish in gator country. Wouldn't any python that swallowed prey of a reasonably large size just end up a sitting (slithering?) target for the alligators? Poor li'l displaced gluttons.
posted by maryh at 9:07 PM on October 5, 2005

Is there a Klingon-speaker in the house who could tell us which of the Rules of Aquisition this demonstrates?
posted by penciltopper at 9:08 PM on October 5, 2005

I haven't even clicked the link and just now concluded my laugh session. Wonderful!@
posted by moonbird at 9:11 PM on October 5, 2005

Well, it's certainly not rule 95: "Expand or die"
posted by WolfDaddy at 9:12 PM on October 5, 2005

Excuse me, the Rules of Acquistion are Ferengi, NOT Klingon. Please.

Now, excuse me while I go shoot myself.
posted by pealco at 9:16 PM on October 5, 2005 [1 favorite]

Snake eats alligator, then explodes... on a plane!

Ninja snake....
posted by pompomtom at 9:17 PM on October 5, 2005

Hm. I'm waiting for Snake Vs. Alligator II: San Andreas. I hear the first one's buggy.
posted by rusty at 9:21 PM on October 5, 2005

Of course if the python had won, there'd be little or no trace of the loser..
posted by Space Coyote at 9:27 PM on October 5, 2005

newsfilter

(a dang good metaphor for the constant battle between the democrats and republicans?)
posted by blue_beetle at 9:35 PM on October 5, 2005

Even funnier--or, judging by everyone's enthusiasm for this story, totally appropriate--is that for at least a few minutes, this story was the second top headline at CNN.com. I think Tom & Katie's baby pushed it off.

Another great reptilian Florida transplant is the monitor lizard.

Some (edited) highlights from that article:

-Judie Zimomra, city manager for Sanibel, [...] cautioned that no 'infant humans' be left alone. [!!!]

--The lizards [...] can hold their breath under water for upwards of an hour, swim, burrow deep tunnels, dart up trees in seconds and clock an on-land speed of 15 mph. There's also the possibility the lizards [...] hunt in packs.

-Even trapped lizards proved tough to wrangle into submission. They hurled themselves at cage bars, spitting, lashing their tails and emitting a pungent spray.

-'They're amazingly adaptable animals. If they could fly, they'd be the ultimate predator. At this point, they're not pterodactyls. Yet.'
posted by Ian A.T. at 9:48 PM on October 5, 2005

Talk about taking goatse to a whole new level.
posted by McBain at 9:52 PM on October 5, 2005

Snake may eat Alligator, but Scissors cut Snake, and Rock crushes Scissors and Laser vaporizes Rock, and Bunny pwns Laser, so there.
posted by zerokey at 9:58 PM on October 5, 2005

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

Like. . . a blogger.
posted by The Jesse Helms at 10:12 PM on October 5, 2005

Maybe a rethink is in order.
posted by dhartung at 11:13 PM on October 5, 2005

From Ian A.T.'s monitor lizard article:

Another monitor was trapped with an upended laundry basket. Another resident, a longtime alligator wrestler, lassoed a monitor with an extension cord. And one woman blasted away 14 hatchlings with a BB gun.

Now that's standing your ground. :)
posted by weston at 11:13 PM on October 5, 2005

Alex Reynolds was unavailable for comment.
posted by Joeforking at 1:21 AM on October 6, 2005

He also managed to connect the protected status of manatees to the highest levels of the "Democrat party" under Clinton's "reign of terror."
More Florida fun
posted by Joeforking at 1:45 AM on October 6, 2005

As a native of Snakeheadfish-ville Maryland, I support this and all awesome future mixing of ecologies. Next up, wild boar vs. kangaroo.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:37 AM on October 6, 2005

Bull also beats Dogs [nsf dog lovers]
posted by srboisvert at 4:48 AM on October 6, 2005

I had this almost happen to me last night after the most brilliant Duck à l'Orange I ever managed to cook.

Seriously.
posted by uncle harold at 4:54 AM on October 6, 2005

Tiger v crocodile (with video). Species v species battles, unethical, but imagine the gambling revenues.
posted by piscatorius at 5:03 AM on October 6, 2005

tom... got katie pregnant?

/crawls out from under Warcraft rock
posted by Lectrick at 5:04 AM on October 6, 2005

Dr. Wu : There's actually a game based on that very premise.
posted by ruddhist at 5:13 AM on October 6, 2005

*python's head explodes*
posted by ZenMasterThis at 5:14 AM on October 6, 2005

I am reminded of a Dr. Octagon lyric: "Half-shark-alligator-half-man"
Ok, maybe not totally fitting...
posted by exogenous at 6:22 AM on October 6, 2005

Remember "The Meaning of Life," in which a Python ate too much and exploded?
posted by mikeh at 6:47 AM on October 6, 2005

ruddhist: I am stunned. I wonder if this former coworker of mine had a hand in designing that game. If not, he should sue. Or sic his alligator on the game's designers.
posted by Dr. Wu at 6:58 AM on October 6, 2005

Is there any way we can turn this into a Monty Python thread just to piss people off? Oh.... nice one, mikeh!
posted by Decani at 7:04 AM on October 6, 2005

mikeh for the win
posted by mr.marx at 7:05 AM on October 6, 2005

So did the official scorer put this one down as a tie or did he force the relatives to fight for the W?

Haven't you heard? It's all about the Shootout now.
posted by NationalKato at 7:26 AM on October 6, 2005

<accent lang="french"> Just one aligateur...it's waffeur thin.</accent>
posted by furtive at 7:29 AM on October 6, 2005

this article has a little bit more info.
posted by lord_wolf at 7:37 AM on October 6, 2005

So you mean when everyone thought these snake eats man (and doesn't explode but has to be cut open, revealing undigested human corpse) pictures were faked, maybe they weren't?

Ewwww!
posted by penguin pie at 7:37 AM on October 6, 2005

for mikeh:
"Bring me a bucket!"
posted by badger_flammable at 7:42 AM on October 6, 2005

I love the fact that the last three posters are clearly alligator hors d'oeuvres: Penguin Pie! Badgers Flambe! Wolf a la Royale!
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 8:10 AM on October 6, 2005

that's mighty tough talk coming from someone named after a fixin'. ;-)
posted by lord_wolf at 8:32 AM on October 6, 2005

No doubt, pythons are pigs... and have gynormous mouths! GOSH!
posted by mrhappysad at 8:55 AM on October 6, 2005

I applaud the use of the "awesomeness" tag, as well as the "totallysweet" tag, and vow to use them in my own posts (provided they are suitably awesome and/or sweet).

It is a matter of some pride for me, today, that of the two posts in all of Mefi tagged with "awesomeness", one is about an exploding snake, and the other is the one I made for Stanley Kunitz's 100th birthday.

Exploding centenarian poets, anyone?
posted by jokeefe at 9:08 AM on October 6, 2005

From lord_wolf's link:

Mazzotti said a similar scenario could have happened even if the gator were dead because of a quirk of its nervous system. Until a gator's spinal cord is severed and literally stirred into jelly with a special tool, he said, ``a dead alligator gives a remarkably good imitation of being alive. One of the things they do is they move their legs like they're walking. Those claws are pretty sharp. It could tear through the [snake's] skin.'

Well. You learn something new every day. [cringe]
posted by maryh at 9:35 AM on October 6, 2005

Those pictures of dogs attacking a bull look photoshopped. Shadows are wrong, artifacts around the flying dog.
posted by Jupiter Jones at 9:35 AM on October 6, 2005

Weird. The exact same thing happened to me the last time I was at the all-you-can-eat buffet.
posted by GeorgeHernandez at 9:37 AM on October 6, 2005

that's mighty tough talk coming from someone named after a fixin'. ;-)
posted by lord_wolf at 11:32 AM EST

In my secret life I eat alligator burgers for breakfast.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 9:38 AM on October 6, 2005

In my secret life I eat alligator burgers for breakfast.

I hope you stir the spinal cords into jelly with a special tool first. (Can anyone find a picture of this special alligator-spinal-cord-jellification tool?)
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:50 AM on October 6, 2005

I want an alligator sandwich ... and make it snappy!


Man, I can not believe I've had the excuse to tell that joke TWICE in less then a month, thanks for the excuse Secret Life of Gravy
posted by edgeways at 10:41 AM on October 6, 2005

Snakes exploding is just too cool.
posted by Skygazer at 12:03 PM on October 6, 2005

This may not be best of the Web, but the comments in threads like this are certainly the best of MeFi. I was in the Everglades once talking with a park ranger and he told me that one day he was working in the Visitor Center when a tourist ran in yelling, "There's a big black bird out there attacking a snake!" A few moments later someone else ran in shouting "There's a big snake outside trying to eat a black bird!" And then the third visitor: "A snake and a bird got all tangled up, and an alligator just came up and ate both of them."
posted by LeLiLo at 12:32 PM on October 6, 2005

Most days I'm disappointed in Florida. Sometimes, it amazes me.
posted by graventy at 2:25 PM on October 6, 2005

.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 2:26 PM on October 6, 2005

In the event anyone wants to take this seriously: do you think there should be greater restrictions or bans on the ownership and transport of exotic wildlife? Should citizens have the right to own such potentially dangerous or ecologially disruptive organisms?
posted by squink at 3:47 PM on October 6, 2005

tom... got katie pregnant?

They're calling it Mission Impossible, right?
posted by madman at 4:16 PM on October 6, 2005

tom... got katie pregnant?

Not personally. Tom cannot abide the touch of woman. He paid a low-level Scientologist to perform the actual insemination. Obviously he couldn't trust the guy not to blab, so he fed him to an alligator and fed the alligator to a snake. The perfect crime!

Come on, you know you were all thinking the exact same thing.
posted by Soulfather at 7:46 PM on October 6, 2005

[this is crazily awesome]
posted by cortex at 9:09 PM on October 6, 2005

In the event anyone wants to take this seriously: do you think there should be greater restrictions or bans on the ownership and transport of exotic wildlife? Should citizens have the right to own such potentially dangerous or ecologially disruptive organisms?

Wanna put money that this gets decided -- the day a python eats a kid?
posted by dhartung at 9:57 PM on October 6, 2005

jokeefe, that is indeed incredibly awesome.
posted by philcliff at 11:12 PM on October 6, 2005

Snake eats alligator, then smokes a cigar.
posted by Skygazer at 6:15 AM on October 7, 2005

This is rather late in the post, but here are the actual field notes:

PYTHON MOLURUS BIVITTATUS (Burmese python) FEEDING ON ALLIGATOR MISSIPPIENSIS (American Alligator) IN EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK

FIELD NOTES

Skip Snow, South Florida Natural Resources Center, Everglades National Park, 40001 State Road 9336, Homestead, Florida 33034, USA

On the morning of 27 September 2005, with the assistance of Everglades National Park contract helicopter pilot Michael Barron, I examined a dead Burmese python which had apparently swallowed an American alligator. I say apparently because the tail and hind limbs of the dead alligator were protruding from a hole in the mid-body of the dead python. These animals were located in a spike rush marsh within Shark Slough, floating in 75 to 85 cm of water, at UTM 17 R 0518860 2819747 (Lat. Long. 25 29.686 80 48.740), about 3 to 4 miles NNW of Pay-hay-okee Overlook in Everglades National Park. The python was first seen and photographed by Barron, on behalf of the park, at this location on the afternoon of 26 September 2005.

Both python and alligator were badly bloated. The bloating and decomposition of the python was similar to that observed in pythons known to have been dead at least 24-48 hours. I determined the python to be a male, the carcass total length measuring 386 cm, or about 12.5’. The python’s tail length measured 47 cm. Although some bones of the jaw were present, the head of the python was missing. Based on necropsies of similar sized pythons, head length would perhaps add another 10 to 13 cm (4 to 5 inches) or so.

As mentioned above, and as the pictures show, the python was found with the hind quarters of a dead American alligator protruding from the snake’s mid-section. The stomach of the python still surrounded the head, shoulders, and forelimbs of the alligator. When extracted from the snake, the alligator was largely intact except for two open wounds, one to the top of the skull behind the eyes and one on the shoulder. In both cases dermal bone was missing, suggesting some kind of trauma. The alligator measured 98 cm snout-vent length (SVL), with a total length (TL) of 194 cm, or about 6.4’

The alligator’s skin, from the carcass both inside and outside the python, was largely missing, sloughed and decomposing. Large wads of alligator skin were found in what remained of the GI tract anterior to (forward of) the gaping hole in the body of the snake. This suggests to me that the alligator was indeed, at one time, entirely within the snake’s gut. No other identifiable prey items were observed in the lower gut of the python. How the body wall of the python was breached is a matter of speculation, as is the python’s cause of death.
posted by bmxGirl at 7:15 AM on October 7, 2005

i wonder if there are any equivalent human stories?
posted by room at 7:25 AM on October 7, 2005

Didn't this snake's mother ever tell him not to bite off more than he could chew?

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.

You'd think this would be illegal or something.
posted by orange swan at 9:33 AM on October 7, 2005