Burmese Pythons: Myths, Rumors, and Misunderstandings - Written
by John Lobello Are you afraid of snakes? If you said “yes,”
then you share a trait with 51% of people in the United States.
According to a national poll, more people fear snakes than
speaking in public, heights, small spaces, even death itself!1
This may not be a surprise, but what is hard to believe is how
advocacy groups and the media use this fear to get you to
believe all sorts of things. Especially about snakes. I don’t
blame them. Scary stories about pythons ensnaring their owners
from a shower curtain or urban legends about big snakes
measuring themselves against a toddler to size them up for a
meal all make good copy. Who’s going to question these stories?
Fear can make the most far-fetched situations seem plausible.
But that’s okay. The fact that you’re reading this means that
you’re willing to listen. People have been interacting with
snakes for decades in this nation, even with snakes as large and
exotic as Burmese Pythons. We're here