Humans are always drawn towards various kinds of addictions. The most common ones are alcohol, tobacco and weed. In addition to that, there’s a slightly cringe-inducing one and that’s the addiction for selfies.
The selfie addiction has grown to such an extent that people halt in the middle of the street to take a photo. They do so while eating, driving, swimming, you name it. And while all that is still harmless, I don’t think it’s a good idea to do so with a python around your neck.
According to NDTV, a forest ranger in West Bengal wrestled with the urge to take a selfie with a captured python around his neck and ended up wrestling for his life.
The incident occurred in Jalpaiguri when a rock python was spotted eating a goat. The forest ranger and his assistants were called in to capture the 18-foot snake, which they did. However, then the forest ranger broke protocol, which was to bag the python, and stood around for selfies.
The forest ranger held the snake’s head and put it on his shoulders. The snake made an initial attempt to strangle him but failed. But when he readjusted it, he might’ve let go of the python’s tail. So, when the camera focused back on him, you can clearly see the python wrapped around his neck and choking him out.
You can watch the video here:
The forest ranger walked away alive, thanks to a man who came to his aide just at the nick of time. However since it was a breach of protocol, inquiries are being made into this incident. So, the lesson to be learnt here is that selfies are cool in places which doesn’t put your life at risk. And it’s particularly not safe when there’s a python in the proximity.