I often begin my day going through several sources of reptile and amphibian related news articles. Earlier this week, I came across a sensational story out of Indonesia:
Security guard nearly loses an arm in brutal battle with 25ft python.
I kinda scoffed and rolled my eyes at the headline; I know snakes (and pythons) enough to disbelieve that a snake "battled" a human, especially unprovoked. As I read through the story, my suspicions were more or less confirmed. A security guard (with no prior experience with snakes, especially large pythons), had found a python and attempted to catch it and put it in a bag. Naturally, being a wild animal, the snake defended itself by latching onto his arm with powerful jaws (this is why I say don't attempt to capture or kill snakes; you're only MORE likely to be bitten!). Fortunately, the man survived, but the snake was fried up by the local village.
"I tried to catch it, my hand was bitten, and I managed to wrestle it." -Robert Nababan Source
Despite the bizarre claims made in the article, it was the photos that stood out to me.
The snake in this photo looks absolutely gigantic...almost impossibly large. It is through a technique called force perspective that the photographer is able to make the snake look much bigger than it actually is. Don't get me wrong, this python is a massive snake, but not nearly as large as this sensational photo would have you believe. By holding the subject of the photo much closer to the camera, it greatly increases the appearance of the subjects size, especially compared to subjects in the background. Here, the snake's body looks almost as thick as the child's torso in the foreground, however in reality is it probably only about five to six inches in diameter (a single man would never be able to take on something as big as it appears to be!). This illusion is quite common; I've seen fishermen hold their catches towards the camera to create a larger effect on their catch!
Fun fact!: In the Lord of the Rings films, forced prospective was used to make the hobbits and dwarves appear much shorter than other characters. The actors playing these shorter characters are often much further away from the camera than it appears!
The reason the photo stood out to me is that this practice of forced perspective is very common in the world of herpetology, especially among snakes. People have a habit of taking photos like this, both in professional and informal situations. When showing off a snake someone has captured (or killed) they often employ the illusion to make the animal more imposing. The press is no different; news outlets often used these forced perspective photos to create a more sensational photo that draws in viewers and readers.
As comical as it is for me to see these photos, it's also a bit frustrating. I certainly know these animals cannot possibly reach the size they are portrayed as, however this does nothing to help the public image of these animals. Photos like these give the impression that snakes are far larger and more dangerous than they truly are. Such a photo, combined with the headline above, gives the impression of a man-eating super snake attacking a human, when in reality it was a scared animal lashing out in defense. In order to begin protecting these animals, as well as other animals the public often regard with fear (sharks, alligators, spiders, etc), we have to keep in mind how we portray them. Creating an attention grabbing photos is certainly tempting, but it is very easy to create the wrong impression!
