Mysterious snake coils, licks kids to survive

SNAKES are dangerous species, but Tshabalala residents in Bulawayo have a rare and harmless visitor in the form of a python which has reportedly pulled a shocker as it only targets children on their way to and from school and shops.

The python whose origin is still a mystery among residents, only coils and licks its victims all over the body before disappearing into the bush. The mysterious snake has reportedly become the talk of the suburb with most people believing that it is the work of supernatural powers.

A worried resident Abel Dube said, "There is a python in our area which only targets children. The surprising part is that it does not bite them as it only coils and licks them all over the body before disappearing.

"We have heard a number of reports and we now fear for the lives of our children as it is now obvious that it's a pure act of witchcraft which is at play.

"We no longer allow our children to go and play outside or send them to shops fearing that they will fall victims." It was revealed that victims usually fall sick after the incident, but they recover after a short time without recalling what had transpired.

A B-Metro news crew visited the area to find out more about the mysterious snake and talked to a parent whose two children fell victim to the snake. "My children were from the shops when the snake coiled one of them.

I cannot really say much because they also failed to tell me what really transpired. When they got home, they told me about the incident and I rushed him to hospital and he was treated and discharged. "A lot is being said about the snake, but I would like to believe that maybe the children who have fallen prey would have stepped on it," said the woman who only identified herself as MaNcube. She revealed that her child was now well though she cannot narrate the incident.

Another resident revealed that those who have spotted the snake claim it's a python. "Some people have spotted it and they say it's a python. We think it's a goblin in the form of a python because if it was a real reptile it could have killed one or two people," he said. Scientists say pythons kill their prey by squeezing breath out of them.

They coil themselves about the victim, tightening slightly with each breath the prey takes, until breathing stops. When the python senses that the prey has stopped breathing, it swallows the prey, digesting the food entirely in its stomach.