2017, March 26: Indonesian Man Swallowed by a Snake

On March 26, 2017, a 25-year-old Indonesian farmer named Akbar had about the worst day anyone could have.

        Akbar walked out to his oil palm fields near the village of Salubiro at seven that Sunday morning with harvesting equipment; but he didn't return. By the next day, worried neighbors started a search for Akbar which, at 10pm, turned up a giant snake on the edge of Akbar's garden -- it was 7 meters/23 feet long -- which had a large lump in its stomach that presented the clear impression of a wellington boot on the surface... boots like Akbar wore. On cellphone camera, the snake was filmed as it was cut open with a machete to expose the horrible fact that Akbar, dead, was inside.

[Larger versions here]

        At the time the story was first posted to news sites, Akbar's wife Muna, who was in another village at the time, had not yet been told her husband was dead. He left behind two children. What's particularly sad is that at least one of Akbar's neighbors had heard screams around 1pm on Sunday, but had thought it was just due to some local pig hunters; and since no further calls for help were heard, the screams were ignored.

        The story as I've presented it hit Indonesian news sites on Monday night, shortly after the grisly discovery was made. Due to the horrific video -- which, as we all knows, sells -- the news started hitting English language sites by the following day [Link Here for longest copy of video]. While I've run across many claims that a snake had swallowed a person before, the actual evidence in those cases always had some questions about them... not in this case. The snake is clearly cut open while surrounded by Akbar's neighbors, and a dead man most certainly falls out. So we can definitively say that people can be eaten by snakes now, even if the snakes' are not likely to survive the meal.