ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the beautifully understated, but entirely serious, instructions from magazine published for missionaries working in Africa. These are the directions to follow when encountering an African python: Remember not to run away, the python can run faster. Snake bites can be fatal, but seldom have any connection whatsoever to predatory behaviour—in fact, quite the opposite, since most snakes fear humans and react defensively to protect themselves from perceived predation by humans. The aggressiveness of the Komodo dragon has been attributed to its position as the large carnivore on the islands where it occurs. Komodo dragons are also scavengers and one popular conception is that they will unearth and eat human corpses—bodies left from warfare or buried in shallow graves. When doing primate research in most forests of Africa, Asia, and the New World, where poisonous snakes are common, one must constantly be aware of their presence and be prepared to avoid attack.
