Andi Hajramurni The Jakarta Post 29 Mar 17;
The incident of a large python eating a man in a West Sulawesi village has triggered new concern over “uncontrolled” deforestation across the country, which many believe to be responsible for the numerous incidents of animals attacking humans.
The body of Akbar, a 25-year-old palm oil farmer in Salubiro village, Karossa district, Central Mamuju regency, was found inside the belly of a 7-meter-long python near his palm oil plantation on Monday night.
Rahmansyah, an agriculture lecturer from Hasanuddin University in Makassar, said the killer snake might have had its habitat disturbed by the growing human activities in the area, such as palm oil plantations that have continued to expand.
“Because the habitat is destroyed, the snake’s natural food sources are also affected. Thus, the snake went out to the palm oil plantation to seek prey,” he said on Wednesday.
According to Rahmansyah, the forest was the python’s natural habitat but had continued to expand into a palm oil plantation. “It’s becoming more difficult for the animals to find their natural food,” he said.
Junaedi, the secretary of Salubiro village in West Sulawesi, said the last time such a large python was found in the area was in the 1990s, when the forests started to transform into palm oil plantations.
Shocked by the incident, farmers in the village had stayed at home over the past few days when it was actually time to harvest palm oil. (bbs)
Indonesian man found dead in belly of 7m-long python
The Jakarta Post 29 Mar 17;
An Indonesian man has been found dead inside the belly of a seven-meter-long python, a local media reports.
Akbar Salubiro had not been seen since setting off to harvest palm oil in a remote village on the island of Sulawesi. The 25-year-old man was missing since March 26.
A search found the giant python sprawled out next to his garden with the 25-year-old’s boots clearly visible in its stomach, according to tribunsulbar.com.
Villagers then used a large knife to cut open the snake’s belly slowly revealing the father-of-two’s body.
The horrifying footage shows the corpse being slowly removed from the killer reptile as the leathery skin is peeled away.
Akbar's neighbor Satriawan said: "He was found in the location of the garden.
"Initially Akbar set out from his home to go to harvest palm. After not returning to his home, people looked for him."
Akbar's wife, Munu, was away at the time and only found out when pictures and video emerged in the news, Tribun Timur said.
Village secretary Salubiro Junaidi said: "People had heard cries from the palm grove the night before Akbar was found in the snake’s stomach.
"When the snake was captured, the boots Akbar was wearing were clearly visible in the stomach of the snake.
"Resident cut open the belly of the snake and Akbar was lifeless."
Reticulated pythons suffocate their victims before swallowing them whole, reports said.
