Snake swallows a woman in Indonesia
A woman in Indonesia's Jambi province fell prey to a python, which killed her and swallowed her whole body, according to local reports.
The woman, named Jahra, a rubber collector in her fifties, was on her way to work on a rubber plantation on Sunday morning, according to the BBC.
She was reported missing after she did not return home until nightfall, and teams were sent to search for her.
A day later, the villagers found a python with a swollen stomach.
The locals later killed the snake and found the woman's body inside.
"The victim was found inside the belly of the snake," S Hareva, the police chief of Bitara Jambi, told local media, adding that her body appeared to be largely intact when it was found.
He said that the victim's husband found some of her clothes and tools that she used on the rubber plantation on Sunday night, which prompted him to call a search team.
After the snake - which was at least 5 meters long - was seen on Monday, villagers grabbed it and killed it to verify the identity of the victim.
"After they cut open the belly of the snake, they found that the body inside was that of Jahra," Mr. Hariva told CNN Indonesia.
Although such incidents are rare, it is not the first time that a python has killed and eaten a person in Indonesia.
Two similar deaths were reported in the country between 2017 and 2018.
It is reported that the python swallows its prey whole.
Their jaws are connected by highly flexible ligaments that can stretch around the body of a large prey.
"In essence, pythons can eat prey of any size, including pigs and even cows," said Marie-Ruth Lau, conservation and research officer at the Singapore Wildlife Sanctuaries.
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