A python swallowed a woman whole in Indonesia. Credit: Anup Shah/Getty
A simulation showing the terrifying fate of a woman who was swallowed whole by a python has left social media users shocked.
Back in 2018, Jahrah Tiba, 54, suddenly went missing while checking on her vegetable garden on Muna island in Sulawesi province, Indonesia.
After a search was deployed by the locals in the area, Jahrah’s sandals, jacket, headscarf and knife were discovered on the forest floor, with a 23-foot python just metres away.
There was a large bulge in the beast’s stomach which prompted the search team to kill the reptile and slice it open, and they were shocked to discover the 54-year-old’s remains completely intact.
According to the Washington Post, the local police released a statement with the details at the time of the harrowing discovery.
“During the search the team found a giant python, measuring 7 meters [22 feet] in length, which we suspected had preyed on the victim,” the local police said. “The team captured the snake.”
They continued: “The victim’s body was not destroyed when we found her inside the snake, meaning that she had only been recently swallowed whole,” the police added.
Unfortunately, Jahrah had passed before her body was found.
While there was video footage of the gruesome discovery circulating at the time, a recent simulation of the events have left social media users stunned.
The animation, which was posted to Instagram by @ZackDFilms, shows a simulation of how the events of that dreaded night would have unfolded, with many leaving comments about the ordeal.
“Definitely traumatized button,” wrote one user, while another added: “This is the reason why i dont like hiking. I am terrified of cobra[s] and other venomous insects. My eye[s are] just bad at detecting this, they blend very well with nature.”
A third wondered: “I’m still convinced these snakes aren’t that strong and id easily body a snake this size.”
Well, you don’t want to take your chances against pythons, let me assure you.
They will typically strike at and bite their prey of choice to gain hold of it; they then must use physical strength to constrict their prey, by coiling their muscular bodies around the animal, effectively suffocating it before swallowing it whole.
A study showed that the reptile’s grip can be strong enough to crush the internal organs of any living creature, including some humans, though they tend to attack smaller animals to consume.
They kill by suffocation or cardiac arrest which can occur within minutes of being gripped.
However, there is seemingly a limit to the size of their prey as in 2005 a Burmese python tried to swallow an alligator whole in Florida.
It reportedly “burst” in the process, killing both animals, whose bodies were discovered by rangers days later.
