A woman in Indonesia went to check her corn — and was swallowed by a 25-foot python
A woman disappeared Thursday from her village in Indonesia.
She had gone to check on her corn plantation in South East Sulawesi, according to the Jakarta Post.
It was only after villagers found, killed and cut open a 25-foot python Friday that they were able to confirm the horrifying truth, Tribun News reported.
The snake had swallowed her whole.
Muna Police Chief Agung Ramos Paretongan Sinaga told the Post that Tiba went to check on her corn that night because wild boars have been known to destroy crops in the area. The fields were just over a half-mile from her home.
The plantation is located near a rocky area of the Indonesian island, with caves and cliffs locals believe to be home to many giant reticulated pythons, the Associated Press reported.
By 6:30 a.m. Friday, her family became anxious that she had not returned, and more than 100 villagers set off to find her, according to Agence France-Presse.
Instead, they found her footprints and her sandals, her torch and her machete, laying on the ground.
About 50 yards away, they found one of those reticulated pythons with a swollen belly, according to the Post. They killed it, and cut it open to find Tiba's remains, video from Tribun News shows.
“When they cut open the snake’s belly they found Tiba’s body still intact with all her clothes,” Faris, the tribal chief, told the AP. “She was swallowed first from her head.”
She was most likely dead before being swallowed, though. Reticulated pythons latch onto their prey with elongated, curved teeth, before coiling so tightly around their meal that it suffocates, according to USA Today. It can take hours for a snake to swallow a meal as big as a human, though.
They usually dine on mammals like monkeys and pigs. Cornell professor Harry W. Greene told the newspaper that reticulated pythons rarely attack humans, likely only going after game that big and dangerous if they are suddenly startled.
According to the AP, a python had not attacked a human in Indonesia since March 2017, when a 25-year-old man was swallowed whole, in a similar manner to Tiba, in West Sulawesi.
This story was originally published June 16, 2018 at 3:24 PM with the headline "A woman in Indonesia went to check her corn — and was swallowed by a 25-foot python."