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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Python found dead after swallowing a 14kg porcupine which punctured its insides | Python found dead after swallowing a 14kg porcupine which punctured its insides |
| (5 days later) | |
| A giant python was found lying dead next to a cycle track after swallowing a 13.8kg (30lb) porcupine, the spines of which punctured the inside of the snake. | A giant python was found lying dead next to a cycle track after swallowing a 13.8kg (30lb) porcupine, the spines of which punctured the inside of the snake. |
| Warning: some of the following images in this article may disturb some readers: | Warning: some of the following images in this article may disturb some readers: |
| The python, nearly four metres (around 12 and a half feet) long, died after falling from a rocky ledge in the Lake Eland Game Reserve in South Africa, a fall which is believed to have forced the quills to puncture its digestive tract. | The python, nearly four metres (around 12 and a half feet) long, died after falling from a rocky ledge in the Lake Eland Game Reserve in South Africa, a fall which is believed to have forced the quills to puncture its digestive tract. |
| The python is pictured with the porcupine in his stomachReserve general manager Jennifer Fuller said: "The exact reasons for the snake's death are not clear. | The python is pictured with the porcupine in his stomachReserve general manager Jennifer Fuller said: "The exact reasons for the snake's death are not clear. |
| "It is apparent that several porcupine quills were lodged inside the digestive tract. It had fallen off the rocky ledge. | "It is apparent that several porcupine quills were lodged inside the digestive tract. It had fallen off the rocky ledge. |
| "We don't know if it died beforehand or whether the fall drove some of the quills into its digestive tract." | "We don't know if it died beforehand or whether the fall drove some of the quills into its digestive tract." |
| After the snake was reported to gamekeepers, they performed an autopsy on the animal to remove the porcupine from its innards. | After the snake was reported to gamekeepers, they performed an autopsy on the animal to remove the porcupine from its innards. |
| After cutting the porcupine out, they found the insides of the snake had been pierced by dozens of the animal’s sharps quills. | After cutting the porcupine out, they found the insides of the snake had been pierced by dozens of the animal’s sharps quills. |
| Many snakes rely on thermal and chemical sensory mechanisms to ambush prey, meaning that some do not see threatening defence mechanisms until they have already swallowed their victims. | Many snakes rely on thermal and chemical sensory mechanisms to ambush prey, meaning that some do not see threatening defence mechanisms until they have already swallowed their victims. |