Police looking for a missing man were shocked to find him dead in his home — surrounded by over forty giant snakes.
Many of the reptiles,
including a 30ft anaconda and four 35ft pythons, were slithering free around
the decomposing body when police entered snake fan Heiko Rieder's apartment in
Straubing, Germany.
A fire service spokesman
said: "At least one was as thick as a human thigh."
Worried colleagues alerted
police after the 40-year-old caretaker failed to turn up to work for a week.
It is thought he died from a
heart attack while feeding his pets.
Experts believe he was only
saved from being eaten as he was too WIDE to be swallowed whole
Reptile centre boss Markus
Baur, now caring for the snakes, said: "They probably didn't eat him for
two reasons. One, they prefer their prey alive to start with.
"And two, they like to
eat their prey whole and the average European adult is just too long and wide
for that."
In total, 46 snakes, some in
tanks, were recovered from the property.
A police spokesman said:
"His body decomposed rapidly because of the heat coming from the snakes'
terrariums. There don't appear to be any suspicious circumstances."
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