A 50-year-old mother of four, identified as Farida, was found dead inside a massive python after she went missing on her usual route through a forest to sell food at a market in West Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Attack and Discovery
Farida was traveling through Kaumpang, an agricultural province in the Mamuju Regency, when a reticulated python allegedly attacked her, biting her leg and constricting her before swallowing her body whole, beginning with her head.
The snake, a reticulated python (Malayopython reticulatus), is the world's longest snake species, capable of growing over 20 feet. Search parties discovered the 20-foot python the following day in a forested area, its abdomen visibly distended.
Recovery and Aftermath
The group cut the snake open with machetes, revealing Farida's fully clothed body coated in digestive fluid. Her remains were covered and transported past grieving villagers.
Her husband, Noni, expressed profound regret, saying: "I am forever sorry that I let my wife go out alone. If I had been with her that day, the snake would not have dared to touch her. I feel sorry for the suffering she went through. I am sorry for our family."
Farida was given a funeral and laid to rest in the Pitu Riawa district of Sidrap Regency. The village head, Suardi Rosi, noted that the husband had searched for his wife after she failed to return home for a day, eventually finding the serpent with help from villagers. Rosi claimed this was the first such incident in the area.
Previous Incidents
In 2022, 54-year-old Jahrah was found inside a python two days after being reported missing while on a harvesting errand. In 2018, Wa Tiba, also 54, vanished while tending her vegetable garden; her sandals and machete were found, and she was recovered after villagers cut open a python with a swollen stomach.
