A Tale of Two Tails

While waiting for the coffee to finish brewing this morning, I glanced at the headlines in the local paper.

The Associated Press article (dateline Miami) reported the discovery of a dining experience gone bad. Both the diner (a python) and its meal (a Florida alligator) were dead. The small black and white photo accompanying it not making any sense didn't bother me all that much. I know I'm not worth a hoot until after my second cup of java. All I saw were two tails. Maybe. It was hard to tell what I was looking at, although the description provided seemed clear:

"The python was found with the gator's hindquarters protruding from its midsection. Its stomach still surrounded the alligator's head, shoulders, and forelimbs."

It wasn't until I found the actual photo online that I realized the black and white photo I'd been looking at in the paper had been cropped. Completely missing was the darned helicopter. Holy geez! Look at the size of that gator's tail! Or, is that the . . .

Oh . . . dear . . . gawd, that's the python!

And in the larger photo if you look carefully, you can see the slight widening before the python's tail curves and a larger one before it, where the gator's head and forelimbs are.

The Miami Herald also notes in separate coverage, "As an added touch of the macabre, the snake's head was missing."

Yep! Let's send a cute beagle pup out looking for these things.

Come to think of it, has anyone heard from Python Pete or his owner recently?