A 16-foot python stalked a family dog for days before swallowing it in front of two young children.
The snake ate the five year old Terrier-Chihuahua crossbreed at a family home near Kuranda in Queensland state, Australia.
Both youngsters - aged five and seven - watched their pet disappear.
Stuart Douglas, owner of the Australian Venom Zoo in Kuranda, said all he could see were its hind legs and tail when he arrived.
He said: "It actively stalked the dog for a number of days. The family that owned the dog had actually seen it in the dog's bed, which was a sign it was out to get it.
"They should have called me then, but (the snake) got away and three or four days later, I was called and went around and removed it after the dog had been killed."
Scrub pythons typically eat wild animals such as wallabies but sometimes turn to pets in urban areas.
Zoo manager, Todd Rose, said they squeeze their prey to death before swallowing it whole - the dog would have been suffocated within minutes.
But she said removing the half-swallowed animal could have harmed or even killed the python because dogs have sharp teeth and claws that could cause internal damage if wrenched out. The dog was still being digested days later.
Source: Sky News
The snake ate the five year old Terrier-Chihuahua crossbreed at a family home near Kuranda in Queensland state, Australia.
Both youngsters - aged five and seven - watched their pet disappear.
Stuart Douglas, owner of the Australian Venom Zoo in Kuranda, said all he could see were its hind legs and tail when he arrived.
He said: "It actively stalked the dog for a number of days. The family that owned the dog had actually seen it in the dog's bed, which was a sign it was out to get it.
"They should have called me then, but (the snake) got away and three or four days later, I was called and went around and removed it after the dog had been killed."
Scrub pythons typically eat wild animals such as wallabies but sometimes turn to pets in urban areas.
Zoo manager, Todd Rose, said they squeeze their prey to death before swallowing it whole - the dog would have been suffocated within minutes.
But she said removing the half-swallowed animal could have harmed or even killed the python because dogs have sharp teeth and claws that could cause internal damage if wrenched out. The dog was still being digested days later.
Source: Sky News
