Alligator Attack - Defense Fundamentals

[Midnight Star]

I've had a bit of experience with very large snakes and I find it hard to belive that one has ever killed an adult human. It is not difficult to unwarp the snake as it tries to wrap around you, though bites do hurt.

There have been two near deaths, from asphyxiation (resusitation was required - it brought them back) recently in both a home owned, and zoo managed constrictor (they were fairly large).

What your seeing is the snake not fully in constricting mode, and fairly relaxed when you see them move and bend it about - once it gets around you and starts to squeeze, there's really not much a person can do; they're stronger than what they look. I've even seen smaller constrictors wrap around a persons arm and they have difficulty removing them ... the snakes "feels" the pull, and tightens even further. Without leverage, it's lights out ... just hope someone is near by to help.

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Mike.

 

[Thalassamania]

There have been two near deaths, from asphyxiation (resusitation was required - it brought them back) recently in both a home owned, and zoo managed constrictor (they were fairly large).

Can you help me out with links or references?

 

[Midnight Star]

See: http://www.snopes.com/horrors/animals/anaconda.htm

That's funny! The legs don't look quite right to me. I was referring to the killing of very young children, which aren't really much better than a small capabara (an anaconda's boxed lunch). The ones i've seen mentioned were when they were at the waters edge. The snake was probably hungry, away from it's normal food source and grabbed the youngster when it wondered too close to it, while the snake was submerged. I'm going by what they (the ones who saw or lost their child) said ... and didn't have any reason to doubt them. Since they had a loss, i'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

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Mike

 

[Midnight Star]

Can you help me out with links or references?

I'll see if I can dig some up here in a bit. It was in the news here locally (in the past few years), which I rarely watch.

Have you tried GOOGLING any references in the interim? I'm sure something is bound to turn up.

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Mike.

 

[Midnight Star]

Wow, just playing around a bit on GOOGLE (trying different keywords), and taking into consideration that GOOGLE "web crawls" don't find, and record everything ... either the news media "fabricated" the stories, it hasn't been entered in a newsite yet (unlikely) or GOOGLE isn't quite the complete research base, it's made out to be.

See, we really DO need to get out more.

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Mike.

 

[Thalassamania]

All I find are fakes.

 

[Midnight Star]

Me too, or no references at all. In the home owner incident, it was here in louisville, and he went out to check on his Boa; it was sick or something. In the process, he got "squeezed" ... i'll have to ask for more details, but I think what happened, as it was with the zookeeper (which might also have been a full grown boa), was they were letting the snake wrap around them to support the weight, and for some reason or another (snakes twine all over people without incident), it decided to tighten. It couldv'e been reactive towards discomfort, or purely and instinctive reaction, i'm not sure. I need to find those news articles ... let me see if I can check out ABC, CBS, NBC or maybe FOX news.

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Mike.

 

[patymeboy]

if you get attacked by a gator call 911
let the professionals handle the situation.
as a wise person once said " Im not guna be no fool gettin et up by no alligator in no swamp. I call 911 n let the professionals take over"

 

[Midnight Star]

Me neither ... if a gator comes towards me, i'm calling:

I'll just tell him that they're camaflodged insurgents. He'll know what to do

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Mike.

 

[agilis]

Of course Alligators and Crocs and big snakes eat appropriately sized people. Why not? We are made out of meat. I know that there are people who think we have some sort of species exemption, but we do not. Florida is filled with imbeciles who think Disneyworld extends througout the state, and that big hungry alligators are just part of a thrilling theme park that has been provided for their amusement.

If big snakes can swallow a small deer or a goat, they can certainly swallow a small human. Snakes I'm friendly with tell me that once you get past the shoulders it's as easy as swallowing a clam on the half-shell.

People have been killed by large constrictor pet snakes. All it takes is one loop around the neck. It's the same effect as a choke-hold; carotid artery blood flow is blocked, and in no time at all one has shuffled off this mortal coil. I know of no instance where pet snakes have tried to eat their recently deceased owners, but pet dogs frequently snack on people who fall dead on the floor from various causes, and are no longer able provide the usual ration of Barko Kibble. Dog value systems tend to be pragmatic.