Tragedy in New Brunswick: How dangerous are pet pythons?

With the horrible tragedy in New Brunswick, where two young boys were apparently strangled to death by a large constrictor snake, amongst my feelings of horror and sadness, there was confusion as well. Although snakes are wild animals and care should always be taken when dealing with them or owning them, I've always heard that they don't consider humans as their prey.

The fact is, that deaths of this kind are very rare. According to the Humane Society there have been 17 deaths due to attacks by large constrictor snakes in the United States from 1978 to 2012. However, by comparison, just last year there were more than double that number of deaths due to dog bites, and the looking at the statistics going back to 1978 shows that there have been over 300 reported deaths due to dog bites. Both sets of statistics note a surge in reports within the last decade, though, which could be due to higher populations and more people living closer to each other.

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Here in Canada, according to Zoo Check Canada, there's been one reported incident, from 1992, of a 28-year old Brampton man being strangled to death by his pet Burmese python.

Large constrictor snakes do lash out in defense, but apparently they bite and release in that case. It's only when they're attacking prey for food that they wrap themselves around it to strangle it.

"When they grab and asphyxiate an animal by squeezing it as hard as they can, that’s not a self-defence action, that’s a feeding response," said Paul "Little Ray" Goulet, owner of Little Ray’s Reptile Zoo in Ottawa, Ont, during a telephone interview with CTV News. "For self-defence, a snake will bite and let go, bite and let go, bite and let go — and I mean bite and immediately let go."

These snakes don't typically see humans as food sources, though, according to experts. In an interview with CBC News, snake expert Lisa Janes, the co-owner of Little Ray's Reptile Zoo in Halifax, said "accidents do happen ... if there was a feeding response triggered — maybe the snake smelled something, maybe there was a pet rat or rodent in the room or the snake just got startled."

However, this particular snake was identified as an African rock python, which, according to CBC News, the RCMP said was around 45 kilograms (100 lbs) and between 3.5 and 4.5 metres (11 to 14 feet) long.

The Institute for the Study of Invasive Species, at Texas State University, specifically says: "The Burmese python and the African rock pythons are known for their aggressive behaviors and ability to sneak up on unsuspecting prey. The Burmese python is known for attacking and killing alligators for prey, but the African rock python is considered more viscous [sic] and aggressive. Both Python species have been observed to attack humans and several other large prey items. Household pets, children, and wildlife are at most risk of attack."

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Why did this snake attack these two boys? Right now, it's not known.

Why was such a dangerous animal kept as a pet? Although it was a wild animal, and should always be considered so, typically these snakes aren't dangerous to humans.

What's needed to prevent more tragedies like this? Education, for sure. Knowing what these snakes are like and their tendencies. Knowing whether you should or should not own one, based on your situation (small children, other pets, etc).

Should these kinds of exotic pets be banned? Is keeping a pet like this worth the danger? I don't know. The number of dog attacks vs the number of snake attacks certainly isn't surprising, because there are many more people own dogs than own snakes. Are snakes inherently more dangerous than dogs, though? Possibly. They are wild animals. You can't domesticate a snake. They can be tamed, if handled correctly, but even those guides remind that these are wild animals.

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

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