National Geographic Kids Chapters: Scrapes With Snakes: True Stories of Adventures With Animals. Brady Barr

snakes. And he told us we were looking for the snake in the wrong spot.

      Ramkrishna said the big snake liked to hang out in another part of the swamp, in an area farther from the river. Gerry wasn’t so sure. He still felt we’d find the snake closer to the river. He said he was going to take one more look.

      I decided to check out the area Ramkrishna told us about. So, Gerry and I separated again for one last slog through the muck. We agreed to meet up at our truck before sunset.

      By now, I was pretty sure there was no giant cow-eating snake. I was feeling a lot more relaxed in the swamp. But I was not crazy about the leeches! I was trudging along, wondering if any of those slimy little things were crawling on me again. I reached down to scratch my leg. And when I looked up, there it was! I froze in disbelief. I was horrified and fascinated at the same time. Never in my life had I seen a snake so big!

      Ramkrishna had been right. Farther from the river, the snake had found a nice spot to come out of the water. Here it could warm up in the sunshine. But it could slide back into the water quickly, if it needed to.

      At first, I thought maybe the snake was asleep in the warm sun. But there’s no way to know for sure if a snake is asleep. Snakes don’t have eyelids, so their eyes are always open.

       Did You Know?

      Like sharks and crocodiles, snakes lose teeth and grow in new ones throughout their lives.

      I watched for any little movement. Suddenly, I saw the snake’s long forked tongue flick out. It waved around in the air in long, drawn-out motions.

      Uh oh! I thought. It knows I’m here! Snakes use their forked tongues to pick up odors. And right now that giant was smelling me.

      After a long battle, Gerry and I posed with our prize. I always release the snakes I catch back into the wild.

      

      My brain began racing with scary thoughts. I was only a few feet away from an animal that could swallow me whole. If it decided to strike, I wouldn’t be able to move away fast enough.

      “Snake! Giant snake! Giant snake!” I yelled. I was startled by the sound of my own voice in the silent swamp.

      I knew my screams wouldn’t startle the snake, because snakes don’t have ears like we do. But I sure hoped Gerry was close enough to hear me.

      With my eyes still glued to the snake, I heard Gerry slogging toward me. When he spotted the giant python, his eyes grew as big as plates.

      Gerry had more experience with big snakes than I had. But he had never seen one this large. “We have to catch it!” he shouted.

      “Catch it?” I cried. “Are you kidding me? That thing could eat us both for lunch.” I had a better idea: Let’s not catch it. Let’s run for our lives. But I kept that thought to myself. I knew Gerry was right. We had to try and capture this snake before it got into any more trouble. If it did, the villagers might harm it.

      “On the count of three, jump on it,” Gerry said. “I’ll go for the head. You secure the body.”

      Secure the body? I thought. That snake looks a lot stronger than I am. Still, that sounded easier than trying to grab the toothy end. There’s nothing fancy about catching a big snake. Just jump on top of it and hang on. And avoid the mouth. It’s just a matter of muscle against muscle. Or in this case, our combined total of less than 2,000 muscles against the snake’s 10,000!