Inside Nature's Giants

Monster Python

Season 1, Episode 2 of 6

In Florida's Everglades, Mark Evans and Joy Reidenberg meet "python hunters" who are attempting to control the python population (approximately 100,000) through a cull. They join reptile expert Jeanette Wyneken to dissect two pythons: a nine-foot male and a 14-foot female. The program explores the science of slithering, as well as the development of "infra-red goggles" that let the snakes hunt warm-blooded prey in the dark and a flexible jaw that allows them to stretch their mouths around huge prey, including alligators. The scientists make an amazing discovery in the female: ovaries bulging with 40 egg follicles ready to be fertilized. Richard Dawkins describes how snakes evolved from four-legged lizard-like ancestors, and biologist Simon Watt finds out what it feels like to be crushed by a real-life python.

Previously Aired

Day
Time
Channel
1/25/2012
10 p.m.
1/26/2012
3 a.m.
2/4/2012
4 p.m.
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