The python is another famous snake, the very mention of which arouses fear in some persons. It can be tremendous in size. An Asian python has been measured at thirty-three feet in length! The python kills by constricting or squeezing its prey until it suffocates. But there are few authenticated reports of these snakes’ attacking and devouring humans. In one instance, however, a fourteen-year-old boy in the East Indies was caught and devoured by a python. A couple of days later the large snake was captured and killed, the body of the boy being recovered.

There are reliable reports, however, of thirty-seven-foot anacondas, which are big indeed! The boa constrictor, which is found in Panama, can gain a length of over fifteen feet, ranking next to the anaconda and python in size.