{"id":7872,"date":"2013-08-06T23:45:00","date_gmt":"2013-08-06T23:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/disnaija.com\/nigeria-news\/african-rock-python-kills-2-canadian-boys\/"},"modified":"2013-08-06T23:45:00","modified_gmt":"2013-08-06T23:45:00","slug":"african-rock-python-kills-2-canadian-boys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disnaija.com\/african-rock-python-kills-2-canadian-boys\/","title":{"rendered":"African rock python kills 2 Canadian boys"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

The Canadian Mounties were confronted with a particularly gruesome case on Tuesday, two small boys killed in their sleep apparently by an African python.<\/p>\n

The boys — brothers aged five and seven — were sleeping at a friend’s apartment on Sunday in the small town of Campbellton in the east of the country when they were surprised by the snake.<\/p>\n

Police believe the python slithered out of its enclosure in a pet store and got into the ventilation system through a grille that opened directly into the beast’s terrarium.<\/p>\n

From there it slithered upstairs to an apartment owned by the pet store’s manager, dropped through a broken pipe and — police believe — choked the children. <\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The boys killed: Noah Barthe and Connor Barthe<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Sergeant Alain Tremblay, of the Royal Canadian Mountain Police, identified the brothers as Noah and Connor Barthe.<\/p>\n

“The apartment is located upstairs from a reptile store where the snake had gotten out of his enclosure, made his way into the ventilation system,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Then into the living room where the two boys were sleeping,” he said.<\/p>\n

Autopsies were expected Tuesday but at this stage it is believed the boys were strangled by the snake, which is of a species that constricts its prey and squeezes out its life. <\/p>\n

\"An <\/p>\n

An African rock python: blamed for killing two Canadian kids<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

For more on the deadly snake, please read The National Geographic insight here: http:\/\/news.nationalgeographic.com\/news\/2013\/08\/130806-african-rock-python-snakes-canada-killed-boys-world\/ <\/p>\n

“The snake was captured and is in RCMP possession. The investigation into what happened is ongoing,” Tremblay said.<\/p>\n

Police said the snake was a rock python, also known as a python sebae, the biggest snake species in Africa. It is not poisonous, but is hugely strong and capable of killing large animals including antelopes.<\/p>\n

It is not known as a man-eater in the wild, but it is widely feared.<\/p>\n

Canadian media said the snake was four meters (13 feet) long and weighed around 45 kilos (100 pounds).<\/p>\n

The boys’ great uncle, Dave Rose, appealed for the media to respect the family’s privacy, and described their final hours with emotion.<\/p>\n

The family had been guests of the pet store owner, Jean-Claude Savoie, and his young son, and had spent the day playing in a paddling pool, eating barbecue and riding a tractor.<\/p>\n

“So, a super day,” he said. “And then after a long day late into the night, they got home for the sleepover and the two families stayed together until midnight.”<\/p>\n

The brothers stayed on with their young friend for a sleepover above the pet shop, and Savoie said he found the boys’ bodies Monday morning.<\/p>\n

“I have many mixed emotions right now. It’s ridiculous. I can’t believe this is real,” he told Radio-Canada.<\/p>\n

“It’s strange, I’m just trying to piece it together,” added Lee Parker, the facilities manager at an Ontario reptile zoo named Reptilia.<\/p>\n

He told CBC that pythons only kill to eat.<\/p>\n

“They don’t go on killing sprees … it doesn’t make sense to me,” he said.<\/p>\n

Former pet shop owner Laurent Brisson told Radio-Canada that heat can also attract such snakes and that hunting is simply a matter of instinct.<\/p>\n

The RCMP major crimes section is carrying out a criminal investigation but has not brought charges.<\/p>\n

The incident sparked strong reactions in Campbellton, a town of just over 7,000 people on Chaleur Bay in northern New Brunswick.<\/p>\n

Deputy Mayor Ian Comeau expressed sorrow over the accident and noted that there had been opposition to the presence of the exotic pet store in the town.<\/p>\n

He pledged the city ordinance that allowed it would immediately come under review.<\/p>\n

<\/img> <\/img> <\/img> <\/img> <\/div>\n

——————————————————————————————————————————————-
Posted in Nigeria News. <\/a>A DisNaija.Com<\/a> network.<\/p>\n

Source: PM News<\/p>\n

DisNaija.Com<\/b> publishes regular posts on Nigeria News,<\/a> Nigerian Newspapers,<\/a> Online Nigeria Gist.<\/a><\/p>\n

Follow us on Twitter<\/a> and Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

Nigeria News<\/a>
\n
\nFollow @Dis_Naija<\/a>
\n