Snake attack

I don't actually believe the story as it stands. But then I'm not a snake expert.
 
The story has been clarified a bit - the snake (45kg African Rock Python) was actually kept in the apartment, not the pet shop below.

Article: Autopsies For Children Strangled By Python | Stuff.co.nz

But RCMP Sergeant Alain Tremblay has now said the snake was actually kept in the apartment and escaped from its glass cage - which has walls all the way up to the ceiling - through a vent in the ceiling and slithered around in the ventilation system. When a duct broke, the snake fell into the living room where the boys were sleeping, The Globe and Mail reported.
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Can't view the YouTube clip at the moment.

So this snake strangled two kids without biting or trying to swallow either of them? Weird.
 
nanoboy said:
Can't view the YouTube clip at the moment.

So this snake strangled two kids without biting or trying to swallow either of them? Weird.
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According to the youtube clip (a radio interview recording - no video or anything), the kids did have bite marks.
 
zooboy28 said:
According to the youtube clip (a radio interview recording - no video or anything), the kids did have bite marks.
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That sounds straight out of a movie/CSI. Maybe the kids used to torment the snake and it took 'revenge'? Or maybe the snake, having spent its life in captivity, was a poor judge of what it could swallow?
 
nanoboy said:
That sounds straight out of a movie/CSI. Maybe the kids used to torment the snake and it took 'revenge'? Or maybe the snake, having spent its life in captivity, was a poor judge of what it could swallow?
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The kids didn't live a tthe house, it was a sleep-over. Also, they had spent the day (and much of the night apparently) at a petting zoo/farm, so may have actually smelt heavily of farm animals, rabbits, etc...
 
zooboy28 said:
The kids didn't live a tthe house, it was a sleep-over. Also, they had spent the day (and much of the night apparently) at a petting zoo/farm, so may have actually smelt heavily of farm animals, rabbits, etc...
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Mystery solved then.
 
zooboy28 said:
The kids didn't live a tthe house, it was a sleep-over. Also, they had spent the day (and much of the night apparently) at a petting zoo/farm, so may have actually smelt heavily of farm animals, rabbits, etc...
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I know I'm a sceptic at times, but nothing I have read here adds up. I don't see how a snake can kill 2 children without waking at least one of them up, also it was rather handy that they both smelt of small animals, I don't know if the children were on a sleepover with an estranged parent or not, but it all seams very odd. Also trying to pin the blame on the petshop is a bit much too. I wonder if the children were left alone with the snake and smelling of small animals the snake reacted as it would.

Here in the Uk we have nearly monthly accounts of estranged fathers murdering their children to get back at the ex partners I wonder if this is just an extreme form of that? had the children been drugged etc.

All very sad for the Children and their familys down to responsible herpetologists who will now no doubt face another attack from the anti pet keepers lobby.:(
 
dean said:
I know I'm a sceptic at times, but nothing I have read here adds up. I don't see how a snake can kill 2 children without waking at least one of them up, also it was rather handy that they both smelt of small animals, I don't know if the children were on a sleepover with an estranged parent or not, but it all seams very odd. Also trying to pin the blame on the petshop is a bit much too. I wonder if the children were left alone with the snake and smelling of small animals the snake reacted as it would.

Here in the Uk we have nearly monthly accounts of estranged fathers murdering their children to get back at the ex partners I wonder if this is just an extreme form of that? had the children been drugged etc.

All very sad for the Children and their familys down to responsible herpetologists who will now no doubt face another attack from the anti pet keepers lobby.:(
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I'm glad Im not the only one that thinks something doesnt add up. I dont understand how the snake could fall through the ceiling and not wake one of the children up? And then surely when it started to attack the first child it would scream or something and wake up the second?

Either way its terrible that two young children have died.
 
nanoboy said:
That sounds straight out of a movie/CSI. Maybe the kids used to torment the snake and it took 'revenge'? Or maybe the snake, having spent its life in captivity, was a poor judge of what it could swallow?
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I would refrain from using anthropomorphic labels as that is the reason for a lot of zoo and exotic pet criticism. Snakes do not get revenge. Snakes also are poor judges of what's too big for them, in my experience. It does happen in the wild. It's just that most of the time, they get it right, hence why snakes exist today.
 
dean said:
Also trying to pin the blame on the petshop is a bit much too.
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That's what I heard first as well, but this article says:

Initial reports said the snake escaped from the store into the residence, but police said on Tuesday it was being held in a glass enclosure in the same apartment as the two children.

Yahoo! News Canada - Latest News & Headlines​

Also, this may be old news to some, but I just read that the snake was put down.

A necropsy was performed on the snake, which was euthanized after the attack, and police said it appeared to be in good health.

Boys in Canada snake attack were asphyxiated, autopsy finds - chicagotribune.com​

I found the word choice of that sentence to be a bit poor: "euthanized" and "in good health" don't typically go together. Yes, it's a minor thing, but "appeared to have been in good health" would be more appropriate.
 
@dean, I, too, do not see all the numbers adding up correctly with this story but I wouldn't go saying things like that, whether they be true or not, just yet. I'm not trying to put you down for expressing how you feel about the story but think we all should be wary about what we express on here while information is still being gathered on the incident.

My heart goes out the the family and friends of the two boys.:(

~Thylo:cool:
 
Buggle, I remember David Attenborough being asked about anthropomorphism at a live show I attended and his response was like this: we have to be very careful in this regard - if an elephant is running toward you, trumpeting, and with ears flapping, you can be pretty damn sure it's cross with you; but to talk about a jealous termite is just silly.

What I am getting at, is that humans don't have a monopoly on emotions. An abused dog will one day turn on its owner - sounds like revenge to me! I don't buy that a wasp will come hunt me down days later because I destroyed its nest though.....

On another note, why did they kill the snake? And why did they do a necropsy, given that the snake did not swallow the boys??
 
nanoboy said:
On another note, why did they kill the snake? And why did they do a necropsy, given that the snake did not swallow the boys??
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According to this article: Python That Killed Noah and Connor Barthe Was An... | Stuff.co.nz

It was sent for a necropsy to confirm the type of snake and help understand what may have caused it to attack.
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The illegal bit is interesting, apparently:
Mark Johnson, a spokesman for Environment Canada, said the snake was abandoned at a local SPCA in 2002 and federal wildlife officials assisted with relocating the python to the pet store.
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But:
Anne Bull, a spokeswoman for the New Brunswick's Natural Resources department, said the African rock python is no longer permitted in the province and said the department had no knowledge of the existence of the snake prior to this week's tragedy. The African rock python has been illegal in the province since 2009.
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I'm not sure what you're saying but...I think they snake was examined to see what may have motivated it to do what it did. Probably unnecessary. It's just a normal snake.
 
the python was examined to check the condition of the animal to see if more charges were to be added. there were also several crocodilians and large boids removed. not sure on species, only C. rhombifer was mentioned.
 
has any one any updates on this story I believe he children weren't killed by the snake but I was wondering if we know the facts yet?
 
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