Man found dead inside 28ft python after being crushed and eaten

A farmer was found dead inside a 28-foot-long python, which attacked him while he tended to his livestock.

Grandfather La Noti, 61, was tending to his livestock when he was attacked by the beast in an orchard in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, early Friday.

The snake lunged from the tall grass and latched onto his leg while he was feeding chickens.

With no weapons to defend himself, La Noti was crushed to death and devoured whole by the ravenous reptile.

His concerned family began searching for him the next morning when he was still missing. They found his motorbike abandoned at the edge of the road, prompting a wider search.

Later in the afternoon, they found a huge reticulated python with a bloated stomach lying in the undergrowth several feet away from a garden hut.

Fearing the worst, the villagers caught the reptile, weighed down by the prey in its stomach, and sliced it open.

The group then discovered La Noti’s fully clothed body entombed in the snake’s belly.

Gruesome footage showed several men slowly cutting open the snake’s midsection to reveal the missing La Noti.

Police chief Masud Gunawan said: ‘The victim said goodbye to his family, saying he was going to feed his livestock, but he did not return home.

‘The family and residents searched and found he had been swallowed by a large python. The family accepted the cause of death and prayed for their relative.’

La Ode Risawal, head of the local disaster office’s emergency and logistics division, said La Noti was seen working in the orchard every day.

He said: ‘This is the first time a human was eaten by a python in this area.. Recently, pythons have indeed been appearing more frequently in people’s homes and gardens. We have warned residents to be careful when they go into the forest alone for work.’

La Ode Kaida, head of the Natural Resources Conservation Agency in the province, said the increased python sightings may have been caused by disturbances in their natural habitat or a declining prey population.

Indonesia is home to some of the largest pythons in the world.

While neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia have undergone rapid urbanisation, the sprawling woodland and rich diversity of the archipelago provide the perfect environment for the snakes to grow to huge lengths.

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