Science

21-Foot Python Found Next to Japanese Man’s Dead Body But Did It Kill Him?

USHIKU CITY, Japan (The Blaze/AFP) — Police in urban Japan on Monday were probing the death of a man whose body was found next to a 21-foot (6.5-meter) python.

Shoji Fujita, 66, was found dead outside his home in Ushiku city, 30 miles northeast of Tokyo, with a reticulated python next to him, a local police spokesman said.

21 Foot Python Found Next to Japanese Mans Dead Body

Reticulated pythons have non-venomous fangs and are known to kill prey by constriction.

Fujita was found with bite marks and bleeding but given that pythons are non-venoumous that squeeze prey to death, his cause of death is still being officially determined.

(Related: ‘Blood-curdling scream’ brings mother to aid of toddler being squeezed by python)

The snake was kept by his son, who operated an exotic pet store in the same city, the spokesman continued.

Fujita died after telling his wife he was going outside to check the temperature of a locked reptile compound next to the couple’s house.

When he failed to return, the woman went to check and found her recumbent husband with bite marks on his head and right arm, the spokesman said.

“We believe there is a high likelihood of an accident,” in which the snake got out of its container and killed Fujita, the police spokesman said.

The Japan Times has a few more details:

“I was keeping (the python) with approval from the Ibaraki Prefectural Government,” Fujita’s son was quoted as saying by police.

Keeping or selling reticulated pythons requires the approval of local governments, according to the Welfare and Management of Animals Law.

The reticulated python, native to Southeast Asia, is a carnivore that kills its prey by constriction.

(Related: Animal control struggles to remove 13-foot Burmese python from Florida family’s pool)

The snake’s usual diet is animals up to the size of a primate or pig, but a small number of fatal attacks on humans have been reported, with some attacks resulting in the victim being swallowed whole.

Comments (43)

  • Cottoneyed77
    Posted on August 15, 2012 at 8:26pm

    Whats going to happen when they run out food in the “Glades”? They will start to move closer and closer to populated areas.This is a HUGE problem. Make killing these things, profitable. Put a bounty on these monsters and i guarantee that this problem can be solved. That and NOT letting the importation of these things into the USA. Put free market principles to work, say a $1000 per, and then let the “Swamp people” take care of it.Something needs to be done immediately because we are looking at an ecological disaster unfolding in the Glades.

    Report Post »  
  • WeekendAtBernankes
    Posted on April 17, 2012 at 8:21pm

    No.

    Report Post » WeekendAtBernankes  
  • SweetDoug
    Posted on April 17, 2012 at 6:00pm

    When one of these beasts this long slithers out of the Florida swamp down by Homestead and eats an all-American kid about 8, then there will be hell to pay.

    Why are people keeping these things?

    Stoopid is…

    •∆•
    V-V

    Report Post » SweetDoug  
  • Thighmaster
    Posted on April 17, 2012 at 12:14pm

    I can‘t believe it didn’t eat the whole thing. I’d say check the body for prints, if there’s no prints, the snake did it.

    Report Post » Thighmaster  
    • DrFrost
      Posted on April 17, 2012 at 2:55pm

      I raised boas and pythons for years. First they bite. They prefer to bite the head or neck. Then they wrap themselves around their prey. The bite serves two purposes. If they can bite over the mouth of their prey it keeps the prey from biting back while they’re constricting them and helps suffocate them. They also use their bite as a means to hold onto the prey while they wrap around it.

      Furthermore, most people don’t realize that a snake this big can strike with tremendous force. Enough force to break a man’s thigh, ankle, neck, arm, etc.

      In short, if there‘s bite marks that’s good evidence the snake got him.

      Report Post »  
  • waring850
    Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:25am

    The snake thought the man was the creater of Toyota and Honda

    Report Post » waring850  
  • Gonzo
    Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:10am

    I never have understood why people would want snakes as pets.

    Report Post » Gonzo  
  • Stoic one
    Posted on April 17, 2012 at 12:02am

    Hmn… dinner anyone?

    Report Post » Stoic one  
  • David in OKC
    Posted on April 17, 2012 at 12:01am

    I’m guessing that the python figured it would be a waiste of time and energy to eat the japaneese man? Seeing as how he would just be hungry again an hour later.

    Report Post » David in OKC  
  • sillyfreshness
    Posted on April 16, 2012 at 11:28pm

    Don’t think this is rocket science here. You‘re laying dead next to a massive 20 foot python and you don’t know if they snake had anything to do with it? Really? The guy even had bite marks which shows he had a run in with the snake. I think it’s pretty safe to say the snake was the culprit.

    Report Post » sillyfreshness  
  • wakeus_com
    Posted on April 16, 2012 at 10:55pm

    If this snake had a son, it would look just like Obama.

    Report Post » wakeus_com  
    • mharry860
      Posted on April 16, 2012 at 11:12pm

      Uh, he is the son of a serpent.

      Report Post » mharry860  
    • sillyfreshness
      Posted on April 16, 2012 at 11:38pm

      Many people think Obama fits the description of the “antichrist”. He has or had the world eating out of his hands. People around the world celebrated his election (like in Japan) as if they were being freed from the bonds of slavery. It was a totally nutty reaction by the rest of the world. Moreover, Obama even talks about some bizarre dream he had while he was visiting his birthplace (Kenya) back in the late 1980s. He wrote about it in his tribute book to his dad who abandoned him “Dreams From My Father”. He wrote about how he was on a train sleeping and he was being walking through a village waving at people and then the people became scared. He turned around and saw he was being chased by a leopard. After the leopard caught him, it morphed into a giant tribal native who told him “it is time”. Time for what? Him to take over the world? Who knows. This talks about it:

      http://ruchoshelmashiach.blogspot.com/2011/03/did-obama-dream-his-own-gog-prophecy.html

      Report Post » sillyfreshness  
    • confederacyofdunces
      Posted on April 17, 2012 at 1:38am

      That was perfect.

      Report Post »  
  • snufy
    Posted on April 16, 2012 at 10:45pm

    But, he’s such a good snake. He wouldn’t hurt anyone! Just look at that innocent face. I’ve known him since he was a little thing, and he’s never displayed any homicidal tendacies before! Well, not counting the neighbor’s dog.

    Report Post » snufy  
    • ashestoashes
      Posted on April 16, 2012 at 11:33pm

      A guy told me in California..a couple with children had a python who didn’t like the son..always biting him..He said these snakes have rows of incredible teeth..Said the snake wrapped around the boys leg and was biting his ankle .. the boys leg was turning purple and the snake wouldn’t let go..the guy wanted to cut off the head of the snake..the couple wouldn’t let him and called the fire department..and even though the kid could have lost a leg due to infection and loss of circulation..the fire dept got it off..He said the couple got it to turn loose once and it bit back down. So everyone cheered because they did it without killing the snake..

      Report Post »  
  • The-Monk
    Posted on April 16, 2012 at 10:39pm

    Everyone knows that Asians won’t eat until the waiter brings the Soy Sauce…

    Report Post » The-Monk  
  • The-Monk
    Posted on April 16, 2012 at 10:29pm

    The article says, “The reticulated python, native to Southeast Asia….”

    Which Hawaiian Island is that?

    Report Post » The-Monk  
  • TJexcite
    Posted on April 16, 2012 at 10:28pm

    It would not be hard to find out if it the snake did kill him, He will have a died of suffocation and several broken bones. A snake can not look over his pray to see if it is small enough to eat.

    Bite now check after it does not fit in ones mouth. He might have been the first thing that the snake ever tried to eat that did not fit.

    Report Post » TJexcite  
    • confederacyofdunces
      Posted on April 17, 2012 at 1:42am

      You would see massive increase in blood pressure, bleeding from the eyes, nose and other places. Massive brain damage. I have seen many animals fed to boas and pythons.

      Report Post »  
    • Salamander
      Posted on August 15, 2012 at 2:02pm

      The snake probably took a nap after killing its prey with the big squeeze, and just hadn’t gotten to the dinner part yet!

      Report Post »  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on April 16, 2012 at 10:17pm

    Heck of a way to go.

    Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • BlenGeck
      Posted on April 16, 2012 at 10:30pm

      Kill him….nah….he‘s just the guy’s guard python. Doh!

      Report Post » BlenGeck  
  • The-Monk
    Posted on April 16, 2012 at 9:47pm

    The snake was in the mood for Chinese food…. not Japanese take out.

    Report Post » The-Monk  
  • dealer@678
    Posted on April 16, 2012 at 9:44pm

    Did it kill him. DUH

    Report Post »  
  • lassiegirldawn
    Posted on April 16, 2012 at 9:37pm

    Florida is over run wtih pythons and it has become a real problem, they are even eating gators.

    Report Post »  
  • dissentnow
    Posted on April 16, 2012 at 9:36pm

    Its very likely that the snake killed him and just didn’t attempt to eat him ( not that it could eat him. A 21 ft. retic couldn’t get past the shoulders of a full grown man ). One of my snakes, a ball python named Daisy, didn’t always eat what she killed. She was the only one that would do that. I don’t know why?
    Retics are vicious predators. It is very possible.

    Report Post »  
  • lassiegirldawn
    Posted on April 16, 2012 at 9:34pm

    All those people filled with radiation from that nuclear meltdown, that snake is toast

    Report Post »  
  • KingCanon
    Posted on April 16, 2012 at 9:21pm

    Call in the PCSI !

    Report Post » KingCanon  
  • JACKTHETOAD
    Posted on April 16, 2012 at 9:13pm

    It got busted before it could finish. Ever hear a python swear? Not pretty at all.

    Report Post » JACKTHETOAD  
  • macpappy
    Posted on April 16, 2012 at 9:11pm

    Yep, killed and was gonna make a new hand bag out of him, till the man showed up.

    Report Post » macpappy  
  • godhatesacoward
    Posted on April 16, 2012 at 9:10pm

    Umm……yeah it did.

    Report Post » godhatesacoward  

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