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Pythons usually don’t pose a huge threat to humans compared to some of their more venomous counterparts, but it’s becoming increasingly harder to argue that’s the case in Indonesia after a missing woman was discovered in the belly of one around a month after a similar tragedy struck in the country.
The thousands of islands that comprise Indonesia are home to hundreds of unique species of snakes, including a wide variety of vipers and cobras you typically want to avoid due to the potentially deadly nature of their bites.
The country also boasts its fair share of pythons, and while they can pack a punch with their jaw, the primary threat the nonvenomous animals pose to humans is their ability to constrict their prey to death in a matter of minutes before swallowing it whole.
The longest snake in recorded history was a reticulated python that was shot in killed in Celebes, Indonesia in 1912 that measured in at close to 33 feet, and over the years, that species has been linked to a number of documented deaths in the country involving people who were unfortunate enough to encounter them in the wild.
Earlier this month, a missing woman became the fifth person to be discovered inside a python in Indonesia since 2017, and according to ABC News, that number has now sadly risen to six due to what transpired in the same province (South Sulawesi) last week.
The outlet reports the newest victim had gone missing after going to fetch some medicine before her husband discovered her pants and slippers on a path around a third of a mile away from her home. He then spotted a snake with a distended belly in the immediate vicinity and quickly recruited other villagers to kill it before they ripped open its carcass and discovered his wife’s body.
The exact species and length of the snake weren’t specified in the report, but all signs point to a reticulated python being the culprit.
That’s some absolutely terrifying stuff.