A python in Indian forest. Image credit: Girish HC/Shutterstock.com
Pythons are part of the constrictor family of snakes. This means that they do not use venom to kill their prey, but rather they squeeze their victims with mighty muscles, until their prey drops dead. Pleasant. Then, they chow down.
These snakes can grow to be quite big-up to 30 feet long, weighing up to 200 lbs- and as such, they are some of the largest snakes in the world.
Pythons live in a variety of environments including grasslands, woodlands, swamps, rocky outcrops, rain forests, dunes, and shrubs. These constrictors are more likely to be found in Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Australia, but they have also made inroads in the US as one of the most invasive species in the Everglades.
What do they eat? Pythons like to munch on both large and small animals. They normally feed on rodents, birds, lizards, pigs, wallabies, monkeys and even antelopes. But pythons might also attack big cats, including tigers, if the right opportunity presents itself. It could be that a tiger fighting a python in the wild would get away, or win, but it is possible that sometimes the snake can have its way.