The man-eating snake-Unproven!

The Pictures of the Man-Eating Snake-Fiction!

Summary of eRumor
This eRumor comes in several versions. All of them include pictures of a large snake that has obviously swallowed a very large meal. Then there are pictures of a human body apparently being cut from the belly of the snake. The differences among the versions are the location and explanation of the stories behind the pictures.

The Truth
TruthOrFiction.com is interested in tracking down the actual information about the pictures, but the consensus of the reptile experts that we have either talked with or discovered on the Internet is that the pictures are not what they are represented to be.

The pictures of the engorged snake, for example, are more likely the aftermath of the snake having killed and eaten an animal. The angular shape seems to be of some kind of four-legged creature rather than the form of a human.

There are a few stories of large snakes killing humans, but not many of them swallowing humans. The main reason, according to snake experts, is that snakes begin swallowing their prey at the head and with humans, the snake is confronted with a major obstacle when it gets to the shoulders. Snakes can ingest remarkably large creatures, but need a more gradual contour to do it.

The snake in the pictures is variously described in the eRumors as a boa constrictor, anaconda, or a python. The experts say it is a reticulated python.

The pictures of the man or boy appear to be from a different incident and a different snake and, according to experts, were apparently staged. They point out that the body is not in the kind of condition that would be true if it had been inside of a living snake. There victim would be more covered in slime. Also, the snake's entrails seem to be missing and were probably already removed prior to the entry of the body. Additionally, some pictures show that whoever was brave enough to stick his head inside the carcass may have had the help of a plastic bag over his head. Finally, if this person had been swallowed by a snake, he would have been swallowed head-first and his arms would be at his side.

As for the location and the stories, TruthOrFiction.com has received several versions:

...That a crew member on a land oil rig in Amazonas was captured by the snake as he took a nap.
...A man in India was captured by a python as he napped by a roadside.
...The victim is one of three men in Brazil who were sleeping when attacked by an anaconda.
...That the victim was a crew member on an oil rig in Nouakchott, the capitol of Mauritania, West Africa.
...That the victim was in Indonesia.
...That the victim was in Ecuador.
...That the victim was in Peru.
...That the victim was in Borneo.
...That the victim was in Singapore.
...That the victim was in Venezuela

A real example of the story as it has been circulated:

A CREW MEMBER ON A LAND OIL RIG IN AMAZONAS WENT OUT AND TOOK A NAP. YES, A NAP. HE WAS MISSING AND THIS IS WHAT THEY FOUND.

(Pictures)

ANYONE WANT TO GO TO THE AMAZON?