Royal Pythons

A detailed Summary of Royal Pythons

A massive Royal python rests quietly in almost perfect camouflage. To the untrained eye this snake could not be seen. As the serpent awaits a jackrabbit, it's "V"- shaped tongue is in constant motion, gathering important information. The rabbit moves closer-SNAP! In a flash the python strikes the rabbit across the head and face area. Within ten minutes the rabbit already begins to digest in the python's body cavity. The amazing thing is this python will be able to go several months without another meal. The Royal python or Python regius, which originated from the jungles of Africa, is one of the most fascinating snakes in the world.

The Royal python is a very interesting and complex breed. First of all, the python does not have moveable eyelids, but a transparent area of the eye protects its cornea. Its eyes are directed laterally, which give them a very wide view. Royal pythons will detect the slightest movements in a large area, but with the inability to see detail of their prey at longer distances (Parker 28). This means if you are walking around the jungles in Africa a ten-foot python may mistaken you for an antelope. Snakes have rods and cones in their eyes, just like humans, but they lack the diversity of col

The Royal python is the first python to be introduced as a pet. Native Africans were given money to catch these pythons using a long stick to poke in holes. With a great knowledge of the land, they found thousands of these pythons. Many in the early days were collected in big oil drums and left there until the drum was full and shipped all over the world. Africans soon found out that they could get a lot more money by breeding the females and hatching the eggs themselves. This way they could hatch a lot more babies, which were in a bigger demand (Clark 5).

"Experiments show that snakes cannot perceive most air-born sounds although they do respond to a restricted range of low frequency waves and to vibrations of the surface on which they rest" (Parker 29).

Some pythons of 5-10 meters have been reported as having suffocating and swallowing humans, but only one such case is well documented and reliable. The incident occurred during daylight on the remote island of Salibath, north of the Celebes, S.E. Asia, and the victim was a fourteen-year-old boy. When the snake was found it was killed and the boy's body was extracted covered by the snake's digestive juices (Parker 29). Although freak accidents like this happen every once in awhile the majority of Royal pythons in the wild are scared of humans.

ored oil droplets. They do have color vision, but it is not as broad of a range as human's have (Osburn 1).

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Approximate Word count = 1468
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Science