Escaped python that killed 2 Canadian children put down

[News_Editor]

CAMPBELLTON, CANADA (BNO NEWS) -- An African rock python that killed two young children after escaping from its enclosure at a reptile store in eastern Canada has been put down, police said on Tuesday as local officials indicated that the snake may have been owned illegally.

The two young children, identified as 4-year-old Noah Barthe and 6-year-old brother Connor Barthe, were found dead at around 6:30 a.m. local time on Monday in the living room of an apartment above a reptile store in Campbellton, a city in the eastern province of New Brunswick. They had been sleeping over at a friend, who lives above the store.

Constable Jullie Rogers-Marsh, of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), said the store owner captured the snake which is believed to have strangled the boys as they slept in the apartment. The snake was then turned over to the RCMP and put down by a government veterinarian on Tuesday.

"It was sent for a necropsy in Fredericton to confirm the type of snake and help understand what may have caused it to attack. It has been identified as an African Rock Python," Rogers-Marsh said, adding that autopsies on the boys were performed on Tuesday to determine their exact cause of death.

Anne Bull, a spokeswoman for the Department of Natural Resources, said the African rock python is not an allowed species in New Brunswick province. The African rock python is non-venomous but is considered to be Africa's largest snake, growing up to 20 feet (6 meters) long and killing their prey by squeezing it.

Steve Benteau, another department spokesperson, said he could not specifically comment on the snake involved in Monday's incident but made clear African rock pythons cannot be legally owned in New Brunswick. "The only exception would be an accredited zoo, which could apply to have exotic animals not found on the list (of the Exotic Wildlife Regulation)," he said. "Permits are never issued to keep an illegal exotic animal as a pet."

Officials previously said the snake had escaped its enclosure at the Reptile Ocean store on the building's ground floor, but investigators indicated on Tuesday that the snake was actually held in a glass floor-to-ceiling enclosure on the second floor. It is believed the snake escaped through the top of its cage, slithering into a ventilation system above before dropping into the boys' room when a pipe broke.

The store has not responded to the incident, but relatives and friends of the owner were hostile towards journalists who were outside the building on Tuesday. Messages were posted on the company's Facebook page on Monday after it received a flood of messages, many of them calling for criminal charges to be brought against the owner.

"Deepest sympathies goes (sic) out to the family of the children. A terrible accident without a meaning. This page will be shut down temporarily to avoid any further demeaning comments," one post said before the page was taken down. "You should be ashamed of yourself. We all have a heavy heart today. As anyone would. And attacks on the animals (sic) owner are unnecessary."

Rogers-Marsh said its Major Crime Unit is carrying out a criminal investigation into the incident, with the assistance of a reptile expert from the Magnetic Hill Zoo in Moncton.

(Copyright 2013 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: [email protected].)

[GentlemanJim]

This is just too horrific to be true. I am unable to imagine the pain and utter shock the parents of the two young children must be feeling right now. It appears to me that they put the wrong 'animal' down. The python did what pythons do, it is the shop owners that need putting down.

[pattaya_girl]

Feel so sorry for the Parents, how sad.

[chooka]

Probably no need to put the python down, what about a zoo? The python was only doing what comes natural.

[Ianatlarge]

I am ok with the python, but the store owner might just deserve putting down.

[I Like Thai]

"It was sent for a necropsy in Fredericton to confirm the type of snake and help understand what may have caused it to attack.

It's a snake, that's what it is supposed to do. Killing the snake because it is illegal and a potential danger to native species is the correct decision. It shouldn't be killed just because it killed someone.

[theblether]

Give it a rest with wanting the store owners put down. It was an accident.

As far as I'm concerned there should be a restriction on these animals being kept. There have been too many cases of owners releasing them into the wild, in the US Everglades in particular constrictors have gone on to eradicate the local wildlife.

They are not pets, they cannot be domesticated, they shouldn't be in the hands of the public.

[Jingthing]

Horrible. Imagine what those children experienced. Yes I think the snake owner should face charges if that is possible under their laws.

[transam]

This is just too horrific to be true. I am unable to imagine the pain and utter shock the parents of the two young children must be feeling right now. It appears to me that they put the wrong 'animal' down. The python did what pythons do, it is the shop owners that need putting down.

True, BUT imagine the 2 kids dilemma before moving on.

Why do folk want these creatures anyway, ?, is there something missing in their life ?. I don't understand.

[hanno]

Give it a rest with wanting the store owners put down. It was an accident.

Whilst I am not with the "put down the shop owner" crowd, to just say it was an accident doesn't quite cut it either.

The shop owner is responsible for keeping his "pets" secure and locked up. Furthermore the article clearly states that African Rock Pythons are not even allowed in that province.

[theblether]

In regards to not being allowed in that province, they should be prosecuted.

I'll split the difference with you on the accident part, this was preventable if the area was properly maintained. So to that extent they are also culpable.

My son had a pet python, I'm not scared of snakes but I don't like them. I would take it out of it's case and socialize it when he was gone on trips. I used to look at it and pity it, being kept in these conditions. The poor animals are imprisoned, then taken out for decorative purposes.

I'm no expert but the shop owner told me that the animal had to be socialized and handled on a regular basis. We had to ensure that it's feeding pattern was kept up. On the couple of occasions that my son neglected to feed it on time he got bitten for his trouble.

You'll not see anything faster in nature than a snake bite. You'll not see anything slower than a just fed snake.

They can't be neglected, their nature kicks in and it's a sight to behold. The amount of pressure exerted by these animals is quite extraordinary, and the speed they exert the pressure is also extraordinary. These boys will not have suffered much, they will have been dead within seconds. If they were sleeping the chances are they literally died in their sleep.

I hope they were sleeping.

[vijer]

This is just too horrific to be true. I am unable to imagine the pain and utter shock the parents of the two young children must be feeling right now. It appears to me that they put the wrong 'animal' down. The python did what pythons do, it is the shop owners that need putting down.

Exactly, anyone that traffics in wild animals should be put down. Dogs and cats are pets, pythons, monkeys, tigers, etc. are not. These snake lovers have F up the the natural balance in the Florida everglades.

[LiorW]

That will show the snakes community!!¡ ...stupid people

Sent from my G2S using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[malcoml]

One word lawsuit.

Simple fact is snake was not meant to be there and was not properly enclosed.

[Jingthing]

I find it hard to believe that both boys slept through this ordeal.

I'm also finding the entire incident mysterious, not that I'm expert on snakes.

So presumably you've got two sleeping boys.

Or do you.

Is it possible something broke from the snake's movement and made a loud NOISE awaking the boys and provoking them to show excited fear behavior?

Then the snake freaked out?

OK, I get snakes killing for prey.

But killing two boys and so far I haven't heard any reports that the snake swallowed either one of them.

Does that make any sense at all from the snake's POV?

http://news.yahoo.com/african-rock-pythons-killing-humans-getting-struck-lightning-215827584.html

Edited August 7, 2013 by Jingthing

[GentlemanJim]

I find it hard to believe that both boys slept through this ordeal.

I'm also finding the entire incident mysterious, not that I'm expert on snakes.

So presumably you've got two sleeping boys.

Or do you.

Is it possible something broke from the snake's movement and made a loud NOISE awaking the boys and provoking them to show excited fear behavior?

Then the snake freaked out?

OK, I get snakes killing for prey.

But killing two boys and so far I haven't heard any reports that the snake swallowed either one of them.

Does that make any sense at all from the snake's POV?

http://news.yahoo.com/african-rock-pythons-killing-humans-getting-struck-lightning-215827584.html

I get what you are driving at. How can one put it, this appeared to be a nasty snake! Animals normally only kill for one of two reasons, they are hungry or they are threatened. Some of the few exceptions in the animal kingdom are Hippo's which can go from placid to rage in nano seconds and kill more people each year in Africa than Lions, and the Fox. A fox will kill every chicken in a pen and not even eat one of them. Even a lion will kill one zebra, lie down and eat it and then other animals 50 meters away graze unthreatened. Why did the snake kill without attempting to eat? Were the two brothers cuddled up? At that age still a small target for a big snake, were both crushed at the same time in that case? Too many questions. If I were the Father I would be in jail already.

[DefaultName]

What I can't understand is HOW the snake could do it. To hold and kill a boy, yes, snakes do that. But to do it without waking another boy in the same room and then do it again?

I'm sorry, but it just doesn't ring true to me.

[wooloomooloo]

Entirely plausible. The throat is obviously vulnerable, particularly a child's throat.

A child being choked by a constrictor shouldn't cause too much commotion. Probably no more movement and noise than someone getting up for a toilet break during the night.

I've experience in being choked as a child (I won't go into the gory details), and amazingly one can't make a sound due to acute breathlessness.

[BwindiBoy]

I find it hard to believe that both boys slept through this ordeal.

I'm also finding the entire incident mysterious, not that I'm expert on snakes.

So presumably you've got two sleeping boys.

Or do you.

Is it possible something broke from the snake's movement and made a loud NOISE awaking the boys and provoking them to show excited fear behavior?

Then the snake freaked out?

OK, I get snakes killing for prey.

But killing two boys and so far I haven't heard any reports that the snake swallowed either one of them.

Does that make any sense at all from the snake's POV?

http://news.yahoo.com/african-rock-pythons-killing-humans-getting-struck-lightning-215827584.html

I get what you are driving at. How can one put it, this appeared to be a nasty snake! Animals normally only kill for one of two reasons, they are hungry or they are threatened. Some of the few exceptions in the animal kingdom are Hippo's which can go from placid to rage in nano seconds and kill more people each year in Africa than Lions, and the Fox. A fox will kill every chicken in a pen and not even eat one of them. Even a lion will kill one zebra, lie down and eat it and then other animals 50 meters away graze unthreatened. Why did the snake kill without attempting to eat? Were the two brothers cuddled up? At that age still a small target for a big snake, were both crushed at the same time in that case? Too many questions. If I were the Father I would be in jail already.

I had similar thoughts too; concluding that it either killed them both in one go, i.e. they were huddled together and crushed as one...or something is not quite right.

Will be interesting to see what the post mortem concludes...

[chooka]

I find it hard to believe that both boys slept through this ordeal.

I'm also finding the entire incident mysterious, not that I'm expert on snakes.

So presumably you've got two sleeping boys.

Or do you.

Is it possible something broke from the snake's movement and made a loud NOISE awaking the boys and provoking them to show excited fear behavior?

Then the snake freaked out?

OK, I get snakes killing for prey.

But killing two boys and so far I haven't heard any reports that the snake swallowed either one of them.

Does that make any sense at all from the snake's POV?

http://news.yahoo.com/african-rock-pythons-killing-humans-getting-struck-lightning-215827584.html

I get what you are driving at. How can one put it, this appeared to be a nasty snake! Animals normally only kill for one of two reasons, they are hungry or they are threatened. Some of the few exceptions in the animal kingdom are Hippo's which can go from placid to rage in nano seconds and kill more people each year in Africa than Lions, and the Fox. A fox will kill every chicken in a pen and not even eat one of them. Even a lion will kill one zebra, lie down and eat it and then other animals 50 meters away graze unthreatened. Why did the snake kill without attempting to eat? Were the two brothers cuddled up? At that age still a small target for a big snake, were both crushed at the same time in that case? Too many questions. If I were the Father I would be in jail already.

I had similar thoughts too; concluding that it either killed them both in one go, i.e. they were huddled together and crushed as one...or something is not quite right.

Will be interesting to see what the post mortem concludes...

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/2013/08/08/05/25/photos-show-strangled-boys-cleaning-snake-tank

[Baloo22]

I find it hard to believe that both boys slept through this ordeal.

I'm also finding the entire incident mysterious, not that I'm expert on snakes.

So presumably you've got two sleeping boys.

Or do you.

Is it possible something broke from the snake's movement and made a loud NOISE awaking the boys and provoking them to show excited fear behavior?

Then the snake freaked out?

OK, I get snakes killing for prey.

But killing two boys and so far I haven't heard any reports that the snake swallowed either one of them.

Does that make any sense at all from the snake's POV?

http://news.yahoo.com/african-rock-pythons-killing-humans-getting-struck-lightning-215827584.html

I get what you are driving at. How can one put it, this appeared to be a nasty snake! Animals normally only kill for one of two reasons, they are hungry or they are threatened. Some of the few exceptions in the animal kingdom are Hippo's which can go from placid to rage in nano seconds and kill more people each year in Africa than Lions, and the Fox. A fox will kill every chicken in a pen and not even eat one of them. Even a lion will kill one zebra, lie down and eat it and then other animals 50 meters away graze unthreatened. Why did the snake kill without attempting to eat? Were the two brothers cuddled up? At that age still a small target for a big snake, were both crushed at the same time in that case? Too many questions. If I were the Father I would be in jail already.

I had similar thoughts too; concluding that it either killed them both in one go, i.e. they were huddled together and crushed as one...or something is not quite right.

Will be interesting to see what the post mortem concludes...

When I was young, I kept a number of snakes as pets. Much smaller snakes. They were well fed and well cared for, not mistreated. I was also surprised that the snake killed both children and yet did not eat either. Snakes normally do not kill without need, either hunger or defense.

One theory that I heard on a news report is that the snake may have attacked one child for food and the other child may have attempted to help that child and been perceived, by the snake, as a threat. Sometimes a snake may kill and then if disturbed leave without consuming the kill.

[dighambara]

This is just too horrific to be true. I am unable to imagine the pain and utter shock the parents of the two young children must be feeling right now. It appears to me that they put the wrong 'animal' down. The python did what pythons do, it is the shop owners that need putting down.

The snake's owners are legally responsible and guilty of negligent homocide, so will likely spend time in prison.

[Scott]

Nothing much new or surprising in this report, but it might be of interest to some of our members:

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/07/world/americas/canada-snake-deaths/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

[MyFriend You]

"It was sent for a necropsy in Fredericton to confirm the type of snake and help understand what may have caused it to attack.

It's a snake, that's what it is supposed to do. Killing the snake because it is illegal and a potential danger to native species is the correct decision. It shouldn't be killed just because it killed someone.

Tell that to the parents of the kids, you may be surprised at what you hear.......

[Jingthing]

OK, finally a theory that makes some sense:

Snake expert John Kendrick, a manager at the Reptile Store in Hamilton, Ontario, said it sounds like the python was not enclosed properly and might have been spooked. He called the strangling deaths "very unusual" but said African rock pythons tend to be a little more high-strung.

"It's very odd that one would go out and seek out a person. They don't recognise us as food," he said.

Pythons can sense heat, and if they are startled they can grab something, Mr Kendrick said. He said snakes are very long and their muscles run lengthwise through their body, so they are not very stable unless they are holding on to something.

"A snake that size that was just trying to hold on securely enough to make sure he felt like he wasn't falling or going anywhere; he has enough muscle power to cut off circulation," he said.

It's possible that the python was just holding on to what it landed on, Mr Kendrick said.

"Once they are in constricting mode, any part of their body that is touching something that moves, they'll wrap it. I've seen snakes with two different prey items at the same time, one with the back of the body and one with the front. It could have been an incident like that."

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/pythons-strangling-of-two-boys-in-canada-probed-20130807-2rdwh.html#ixzz2bY8RqK5i

[coma]

Probably no need to put the python down, what about a zoo? The python was only doing what comes natural.

I don't agree. There was nothing 'natural' about this snake's behaviour in this instance. Pythons usually kill only what they intent to eat. Killing 2 boys without even attempting to eat is extremely unusual indeed. It is as if it did it at its pleasure. Almost like those killer lion brothers in africa 100 years ago.

[Jingthing]

Probably no need to put the python down, what about a zoo? The python was only doing what comes natural.

I don't agree. There was nothing 'natural' about this snake's behaviour in this instance. Pythons usually kill only what they intent to eat. Killing 2 boys without even attempting to eat is extremely unusual indeed. It is as if it did it at its pleasure. Almost like those killer lion brothers in africa 100 years ago.

Well, my last post gave a credible POSSIBLE explanation of why the snake killed the boys without eating that is within the natural normal behavior of that kind of snake. Basically the theory was it was a freak accident that the snake may have landed on the boys. I reckon we don't yet and might never really know. Personally I think it was justified to kill the snake just out of respect for the boy's families regardless of whether that individual snake was particularly vicious or not, but I guess I'm kind of speciesist that way (especially towards dangerous snakes)!

Edited August 13, 2013 by Jingthing