Man Bites Snake to Escape Python's Grip

“I stepped on a spongy thing on the ground and suddenly my leg was entangled with the body of a huge python.” — Ben Nyaumbe

A Kenyan man is lucky to be alive after being captured and nearly eaten by a large python, which he says he had to bite during a three-hour attempt to free himself.

Ben Nyaumbe, a farm manager near the coastal community of Malindi, first encountered the 13-foot snake when he stood up and felt something spongy beneath his foot.

The Daily Nation reports the python then quickly coiled itself around Nyaumbe as he repeatedly bit the snake in desperation.

“It waggled its ragged and scary tail on my mouth. I had to bite it as I struggled, one hand incapacitated,” he told the Nairobi daily. Nyaumbe tried to hold onto a tree, but after about one hour, he says got too tired and let go.

Once the python dragged his weary victim up another tree, Nyaumbe was able to reach his cell phone and call a friend, who arrived accompanied by police within minutes.

As Nyaumbe smothered the snake’s head with his shirt, the rescuers tied a rope around the reptile and pulled it and its prey to the ground. Nyaumbe survived the ordeal with only damaged lips and bruising.

The snake was taken to a nearby sanctuary, but escaped within hours, leaving an unnerved Nyaumbe being very careful where he sets foot.

Photo: Earthbrowser