Python Eats Crocodile: Impressive, but I've Seen Larger Meals!

Hi, Frank Indiviglio here. I’m a herpetologist, zoologist, and book author, recently retired from a career spent at several zoos, aquariums, and museums, including over 20 years with the Bronx Zoo.
Recently, dramatic photos of an Olive Python, Liasis olivaceus, swallowing an Australian Freshwater Crocodile, Crocodylus johnstoni, have been much in the news. A very interesting story, no doubt, but actually a 3-4 foot long croc is well within the size range of prey taken by large pythons. In past articles I’ve mentioned some of the astonishing snake meals I’ve been witness to (please see articles linked below). One, a 60 pound White-tailed Deer taken by a huge Green Anaconda in Venezuela, would be hard for me “to swallow” (sorry!) had I not been awakened by the snake disgorging it below my hammock in the wee hours! A 5-foot-long Spectacled Caiman grabbed by another took 6+ hours to subdue. I’ve also searched my notes for feeding accounts recorded by Messrs. Ditmars, Pope, Greene, Kauffeld and other notables, and thought I’d take this opportunity to share them with my fellow snake enthusiasts…Enjoy! Read the rest of this article here Python Eats Crocodile - Tales of Big Snake Eating | That Reptile Blog
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My Bio, with photos of animals I’ve been lucky enough to work with: That Pet Place welcomes Zoologist/Herpetologist Frank Indiviglio to That Reptile Blog | That Reptile Blog

 

This blog post was a very enjoyable read. I quite like reading about large snakes.

A year ago I read of a massive snake that was caught in Trinidad. Here is an article, and a really nice editorial. For the life of me, I don't know why they say it is the largest caught in the Southern Hemisphere, when Trinidad is actually in the northern hemisphere!!

http://m.guardian.co.tt/news/2013-01-03/caroni-anaconda-can-be-largest-caught-40-years

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday : newsday.co.tt :

 

Nice read, Frank. I have a question of the Savanna Side-necked turtle you have labelled as Podocnemis unifilis. Savanna Side-necked Turtles are Podocnemis vogli and Podocnemis unifilis are Yellow-spotted Side-necked Turtles. Was the turtle in question, P. vogli or P. unifilis?

 

Thanks very much, I'd missed that! That is a bit larger than the largest I found in Venezuela, which was just over 17 feet and 26 inches in girth. An 18+ ft anaconda was taken on Trinidad many years ago (same snake that had been mistakenly ID's as a Boa, and reported as such in several books. I'll pass this on to a co-worker now in Guyana...he's seen some huge ones, but all in rivers, no way to get near them so far, best, Frank

 

Thanks for picking up on that, it was P. vogli, which were very common there,

best, Frank