Since rock pythons get so big in nature, I could have seen them doing something like this! The photos you normally see in National Geographic or on the Discovery Channel would suggest that these huge animals would be more than capable of swallowing a relatively big predator without too much difficulty.
That being said, all of the zoologists I’ve been reading suggest that this is a very unusual case. It’s normally only observed in situations where a particularly hungry snake comes into contact with young jaguar cubs who are still small enough to fall prey to them.
Granted, it does seem that pythons that are pushed to the brink of starvation will go after whatever they can, but this is a highly irregular situation that shouldn’t happen. Sadly, sometimes this kind of thing seems to be the result of human intervention in the environment.
From what I understand, jaguars are normally too feisty to make themselves targets anyway. They’ll put up quite a fight if something tries to eat them.
Perhaps most important is the fact that they have prominent fangs and claws, which help to dramatically reduce the chances that anything would want to pick a fight with them anyway.
So can a python eat a jaguar? Yes but it’s unlikely they ever will. There are easier prey out there that pythons prefer.
What Does a Jaguar Get Eaten By?
In most of the environments that they live in, jaguars constitute an apex predator. That means that they’re on the top of the food chain, so to speak, so there isn’t much risk of something else coming along to eat them.
One exception is actually jaguars themselves! When a female gives birth, she moves quick to prevent a form of infanticide apparently practiced by some male jaguars.
In general, females will kick the males out of the den so that they don’t get the idea that it’s okay to snack on their own children! Some jaguars that are left with their young may get a chance to eat them before they’re shooed away.
Barring this natural process, there have been cases of predation by human hunters, especially in areas where poaching is common. Law enforcement officials have been working to stop this unfortunate practice.
Other than that, the only time that you’ll normally see a jaguar being eaten is actually postmortem! Carrion birds, scavenging mammals and of course insects will consume the carcass of a jaguar who died of otherwise natural causes.
A number of microorganisms will actually consume the carcass as well, which is part of nature’s way of returning the body’s makeup back into the soil. Most people wouldn’t consider this eating a jaguar exactly, but it’s something that zoologists have written about extensively.
While there have been a number of cases of other animals eating jaguars, these were either again caused by human intervention or are completely unreliable so nobody knows if they’re true. It doesn’t help that many observers might think they’ve seen a jaguar in spite of the fact that they’ve actually come into contact with a completely different animal all together!
Will a Python Eat a Cat?
Things don’t seem to be so cut and dried on the pet owning front, however. If the opportunity were to arise for a domestic cat to become a meal for a domestic snake, then the python might very well try to eat them.
Pet owners shouldn’t put their animals into a situation where this could happen. If you have a cat as well as a python, then it’s possible that they’ve become well socialized with one another due to the fact that they’re both essentially domestic animals.
This is especially true of anyone who has raised their cat along a python or other domestic snake from a kitten. Otherwise, though, you’ll want to keep them separated.
Keep in mind that this is something of a two-way street. Cats who are feeling somewhat peckish or who still have their inborn killer instinct could potentially lash out and try to eat a smaller snake.
Savannah cat owners are among those most likely to have to deal with this possibility. Since Savannah cats tend to grow so large, they’ll be in a better position to go after even a decent sized pet snake.
While it certainly doesn’t look too much like the relationship that pythons and jaguars might have had in the wild, it could end up just as unfortunate for one or the other if you don’t make sure to take really good care to separate your pets properly.
What’s the Largest Thing a Python has Eaten?
Considering the way that people love to exaggerate their reports and hold the key to record-breaking information, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that it was so hard to find the answer to this question. Nevertheless, I came across some pretty strange claims that people had been making!
Out of the most credible reports that I was able to find, it seems that a python could reasonably swallow a gazelle in areas where the two have habitats that meet. However, this is still at least somewhat uncommon.
Since pythons are cold-blooded reptiles, they have to take a long rest once they eat a meal that’s this huge. When that happens, they’ll usually have to process it for a much longer time than us warm-blooded animals would.
Our major difference in biology and metabolism are the reason for this, which might help to explain why pythons tend to eat a few meals and then kind of hold themselves off for a while. They certainly don’t have the problems with dieting that many humans might have!
Apparently, the absolute biggest thing a python has swallowed that was measured and proven was a crocodile in Queensland, Australia. It should be noted that even this is disputed, because people aren’t sure of the exact size of the animal in question.
More than likely, pythons in the wild have had some truly humongous meals that no humans were around to film. In most cases, though, they’ll go for a few smaller animals as opposed to one big massive one.