According to Greek mythology, Python, a hideous monster, was created from the mud and slime left on Earth after a great flood. The creature was eventually killed by the god Apollo.

Python's name was later given to the species of non-venomous snakes we know today. The good thing about pythons is that because they are non-venomous, their bite cannot poison you. The largest python species is the Reticulated Python, which can grow to enormous proportions, measuring up to ten metres (about 33 feet) and weighing in at a hefty 140kg; that's around 300lbs or 60 lbs heavier than Mike Tyson at his last fight in 2007. It can feed on large mammals, reptiles and birds, whereas the smaller python species such as the Spotted Python will only take small mammals such as rats and mice as well as lizards and birds.

The python is a constrictor, meaning that it kills its prey by coiling itself round it and crushing it. Now I would hesitate to have Tyson shake my hand too vigourously in case he broke my fingers, so I would not be too keen to jump in and hold a hungry reticulated python! However, although there have been several

anecdotal reports over the years of pythons attacking and killing humans, in

reality there is only one well-documented case of a Reticulated Python eating a

human in Indonesia in the first half of the twentieth century.

Pythons don't live in Europe, but are native to much of sub-Saharan Africa and parts of southern Asia, including India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.

Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, Vietnam and some regions of southern China are also home to pythons, which can also be found in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, New Guinea and Australia.

Unlike most constricting snakes like the Boa, the python lays eggs rather than giving birth to live young. Typically a female will lay between 10 and 100 eggs, depending on her species. She will coil herself round them to keep them warm until they hatch after about two to three months. The young are left to

fend for themselves without parental involvement, and can fall prey to

crocodiles, raptors, monitor lizards and some predatory mammals like big cats

(depending on the region) The biggest enemy of the adult python is man, who will

kill for food, for the snake's skin and (largely) out of fear of the snake.

If you find a snake and want to know if it is poisonous or a not (e.g. a python) you can tell by whether its eyes have elliptical pupils (venomous) or not (non venomous) and whether it has fangs or rows of teeth. If you look at the other end of the snake you will find that the anal ridge of a non-venomous snake has scales in a single row, whereas the venomous snake has scales in two rows.

My guess is that by the time you have got that close to a snake it will already have bitten you if it is poisonous. Just run - and if you have a zoom lens on your camera take a shot from afar to identify later!

Learn more about this author, Colin Morley.
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