Python eats student zookeeper in Venezuela

Reuters
Published: Wednesday, August 27, 2008
CARACAS - A three-metre-long Burmese Python killed a student zookeeper in Caracas last weekend and was caught trying to swallow its dead human prey when horrified coworkers arrived, Venezuela's El Universal newspaper reported Monday.

The other employees of the Caracas zoo had to beat the serpent to make it release the body of 29-year-old Erick Arrieta, whose head it was swallowing.

According to the daily, Arrieta had been working the nightshift alone on Saturday, looking after the reptile section of the zoo.
The university biology student had broken the park's rules by entering the cage holding the snake, which had been donated two months ago and was not on public display, according to the zoo's management.

A snake bite on his arm indicated the python had attacked Arrieta before wrapping itself around him and crushing him to death.

"The young man underestimated the animal's instinct," said the director general of the Parque del Este zoo, Javier Hernandez.