Based on the statistics released by the Census of Marine Life in 2011, there are about 8.7 million extant species of organisms inhabiting the terrestrial and marine environments on the planet Earth. Out of these, about 6.5 million are found on the land, while the remaining 2.2 million are the aquatic creatures, living in oceans. The purpose of giving these statistics is to tell you that some of these living beings are extremely fascinating in look, human friendly and very beneficial to man, while the others are somewhat gruesome and dangerous. Among the latter, you have a heinous gigantic beast, known as python, that is famous for its ugly and fearsome eating habits. This unusually large and one of the deadliest snakes in the world can engulf the whole of an animal, like hen, dog, goat, cat, sheep, deer, kangaroo, springbok antelopes, alligators and even their owners (humans). It is very unfortunate fact that some people love to have pythons as pets, but later on they only have to repent over the loss of their friendly and the dearest pet animals. Sometimes, even the owners themselves fall victim to their cruel nature and get seriously hurt or lose their lives, as a consequence of the fierce attack of this fierce reptilian species.

Python Pictures

If you want to witness the deadly and brutal nature of pythons with your own eyes, just have a look at the python pictures and videos available all over the internet. In this way, you can see how a large living animal is quickly engulfed by this horrifying creeper. You will be amazed to see their extra large body which may often reach upto the length of up to 50 feet, while measuring nearly 980 pound, or 70 stone in weight. If you have a look at one of the world's largest snakes, African rock python (Python Sebae), you will come to know that it has a thick body with colored blotches, which often join in a broad irregular stripe. Fading to white color on the underside, the body markings usually vary between, chestnut, olive, yellow and brown. Its triangular head is marked, on the top, with a "spear head", that is colored dark brown and is outlined with the buffy yellow shade. In addition, you will also be able to make distinction between the males and the females on the basis of their size, as the former are smaller than those of latter.

Python Facts

Described below are some of the most stunning python facts, which you might not have heard of ever before. These amazing realities will not only add to your knowledge, but will also serve as a source of entertainment for you. So, let's go ahead!

• Pythons are grouped among the world's largest and the most furious snakes ever found in nature.
• So surprisingly, in exceptional cases, they have been said to measure as long as upto 50 feet in the overall body length, whereas they may be as heavy as 70 stone (980 pound).
• They are constrictors and kill their prey by squeezing them until they stop breathing.
• After the death of the prey, these gigantic snakes engulf it as a single piece.
• These long constricting snakes belong to the family Pythonidae and are more closely related to boas than to any other snake family.
• Snakes have a slow metabolic rate. Therefore, they can survive without food for a long period of time.
• The heart of a snake is not found at a fixed point in the body. Instead, it keeps on moving around in order to make room for a prey when it is swallowed by the snake.
• You can make distinction between a python and boa by identifying, in the former, the presence of the teeth on premaxilla, and a small bone at the very front and center of the upper jaw.
• Pythons and boas can also be differentiated from each other on the basis of their method of reproduction, i.e. the former produce eggs, while the most of the species of the latter give birth to young ones.
• Pythons attain sexual maturity at the age of four to five years and carry out reproduction for the propagation of their generation.
• The diet of a python, usually, consists of both smaller and larger animals, whatever is available to them, such as, cat, dog, goat, sheep, deer, monkeys, antelopes, caimans, alligator, Siberian husky, and so on.
• Though pythons have been found to attack humans, at times killing and eating them, they usually don't take such an action unless provoked or put in stress.
• Found in the tropical areas of Africa and Asia, their favorite habitats consist of savannas, deserts and rainforests.
• It has also been discovered that unlike other snakes, pythons are non-venomous and don't produce venom to kill their prey, rather take the life of the victim by squeezing it hard.
• In their belly, almost every part of the body of their prey gets digested except fur and feathers, while the undigested material is discharged out of the body through defecation.
• It is one of the really surprising python facts that if they swallow a large prey, it lasts for as many as several weeks or even months. In such cases, it has to eat only for 5 to 6 times throughout the course of a year!
• To catch the prey, they usually wait for it and make a surprise attack. During the ambush, they are well camouflaged and hidden in the trees for a successful attack.
• In most of the cases, the pythons are seen either on the ground or in the trees, but it is worth noticing that they are also very good swimmers.
• Owing to the similarity of the body colors of the pythons with that of their natural habitat, they often get perfectly blended with their environment.
• Do you know that pythons are mercilessly killed by humans for getting their very beautiful and extremely valuable skin, which is used in the fashion industry?
• The heat sensing organs found in their body play an important role in the location of the prey, and subsequent attack on it.
• They have got remnant limbs, known as spurs, which are located on either side of the cloacal opening, which are larger in the male than those found in the females to facilitate the practice of courtship.
• After laying 12 to 100 eggs, the female snake coils her body round them for the purpose of keeping them warm.
• The Burmese male pythons become capable of breeding as early as they reach the length of 7 to 9 feet, while the females don't start breeding unless they are at least 9 feet in size.
• As soon as the babies are hatched, the responsibility of the mother ends, and the newborns have to take care of themselves from the very first day of their life in this world.
• Though the pythons are grouped among the cold-blooded animals, but they can raise the temperature of their body through sunbathing.
• One of the longest known species of these snakes, Reticulated Python, has been measured to reach the length of 30 feet and weighs as heavy as 260 to 300 pound.
• While moving on the flat ground, they cover the distance of one mile (1.6 kilometer) in an hour.
• Concerning their lifespan, if you keep them in captivity and take care of their diet and environmental conditions, they may live upto the age of 40 years.