The new year started off with a bang when a python hunter caught a 202-pound female python. That's a lot of meat to eat. But don't do that.

Python hunter Bayo Hernandez prefers his snake ground up like hamburger meat with ketchup, mustard, and mayo. Another hunter fancies the slithering scourge of the Everglades in a stir fry or chili.

Cannibalism in snakes has usually appeared as a footnote rather than a focus. It shows up in old field notebooks, brief case reports, or unexpected mo.

Nature can be surprising, and sometimes a little unsettling, especially when animals behave in ways that seem hard for us to ...