The Pythonidae, commonly known as pythons, are a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia. Among its members are some of the largest snakes in the world. Ten genera and 39 species are currently recognized. Being naturally non-venomous, pythons must constrict their prey to suffocate it prior to consumption. Pythons will typically strike at and bite their prey of choice to gain hold of it; they then must use physical strength to constrict their prey, by coiling their muscular bodies around the animal, effectively suffocating it before swallowing whole. This is in stark contrast to venomous snakes such as the rattlesnake, for example, which delivers a swift, venomous bite but releases, waiting as the prey succumbs to envenomation before being consumed. Collectively, the pythons are well-documented and -studied as constrictors, much like other non-venomous snakes, including the boas and even kingsnakes of the New World.
The Burmese python is one of the largest species of snakes. It is native to a large area of Southeast Asia and is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Until 2009, it was considered a subspecies of the Indian python, but is now recognized as a distinct species. It is an invasive species in Florida as a result of the pet trade.
Walking with Cavemen is a 2003 four-part nature documentary television miniseries produced by the BBC Natural History Unit, the Discovery Channel and ProSieben. Walking with Cavemen explores human evolution, showcasing various extinct hominin species and their inferred behaviours and social dynamics. The original British version of the series is presented by the British researcher Robert Winston; in the American version Winston's appearances and narration is replaced with narration by Alec Baldwin.
Sea Monsters, marketed as Chased by Sea Monsters in the United States, is a 2003 three-part nature documentary television miniseries created by Impossible Pictures and produced by the BBC Natural History Unit, the Discovery Channel and ProSieben. Following in the footsteps of The Giant Claw (2002) and Land of Giants (2003), special episodes of the nature documentary series Walking with Dinosaurs, Sea Monsters stars British wildlife presenter Nigel Marven as a "time-travelling zoologist" who travels to seven different periods of time in prehistory, diving in the "seven deadliest seas of all time" and encountering and interacting with the prehistoric creatures who inhabit them. The series is narrated by Karen Hayley.
Nigel Alan Marven is a British wildlife TV presenter, naturalist, conservationist, author, and television producer. He is best known as presenter of the BBC miniseries Chased by Dinosaurs, its sequel, Sea Monsters, as well as the ITV miniseries Prehistoric Park. He is also known for his unorthodox, spontaneous, and daring style of presenting wildlife documentaries as well as for including factual knowledge in the proceedings.
Prehistoric Park is a six-part nature docu-fiction television programme that premiered on ITV on 22 July 2006 and on Animal Planet on 29 October 2006. The programme was produced by Impossible Pictures, who also created Walking with Dinosaurs. Each episode is an hour long including commercial breaks. Repeats of the show are broadcast in the UK on Watch.
Land of Giants and The Giant Claw, marketed together as Chased by Dinosaurs in the United States, are two special episodes of the nature documentary television series Walking with Dinosaurs. Created by Impossible Pictures and produced by the BBC Natural History Unit, the Discovery Channel and ProSieben, The Giant Claw was first broadcast on 30 December 2002, followed by Land of Giants on 1 January 2003. The two episodes stars British wildlife presenter Nigel Marven as a "time-travelling zoologist", interacting with dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures, a drastic change in presentation from preceding entries in the Walking with... franchise.
Walking with... is a palaeontology media franchise produced and broadcast by the BBC Natural History Unit. The franchise began with the critically acclaimed series Walking with Dinosaurs (1999), created by Tim Haines. By far the most watched science programme in British television history, Walking with Dinosaurs spawned numerous companion material and four sequel series: Walking with Beasts (2001), Walking with Cavemen (2003), Sea Monsters (2003) and Walking with Monsters (2005). Each series uses a combination of computer-generated imagery and animatronics, incorporated with live action footage shot at various locations, to portray prehistoric animals in the style of a traditional nature documentary.
Burmese pythons are native to Southeast Asia. However, since the end of the 20th century, they have become an established breeding population in South Florida. The earliest python sightings in Florida date back to the 1930s and although Burmese pythons were first sighted in Everglades National Park in the 1990s, they were not officially recognized as a reproducing population until 2000. Since then, the number of python sightings has exponentially increased with over 30,000 sightings from 2008 to 2010.
Bill CS/SB 318 is an amendment passed by the State of Florida in June 2010 which amends several sections of Chapter 379 of the Florida Statutes (F.S.). Sections 379.231, 379.372, 379.374, 379.3761, 379.401, and 379.4015 deal with wildlife regulations and were amended by this bill. Broadly, this bill seeks to regulate entities which own, import, sell and/or breed certain prohibited species of reptiles. Specifically this bill prohibits the ownership of a variety of commonly kept pythons and monitor species. Additionally, the bill provided rules for a commission to add species of reptiles to the prohibited list.
Untamed China with Nigel Marven is British six-part nature documentary series presented by Nigel Marven and made by Image Impact and WonderVision Pictures for television channels Animal Planet and CITVC China in 2011. In each episode, Marven explores selected part of China, searches for animals there and meets the local people.
Whale Adventure with Nigel Marven is four-part British nature documentary series presented by Nigel Marven and created by Image Impact for Channel 5 in association with Eden. It has premiered in March 2013 for four weeks. In the series, Nigel Marven follows the gray whales on their migration through North American Pacific coast, from Baja California in Mexico to Alaska.
My Family & Other Turkeys with Nigel Marven is one-hour nature documentary premiered 22 December 2013 on Channel 5. It is presented by Nigel Marven, who watches his own flock of wild turkeys kept in his house. The film also shows wild turkeys in the wild of United States and ocellated turkeys in Guatemala.
Yunnan Adventure with Nigel Marven is one-hour British nature documentary made by Image Impact production company for Eden Channel and Yunnan TV, which was first broadcast in February 2012.
Ten Deadliest Snakes with Nigel Marven is a twelve-part wildlife documentary series from 2013 to 2017. It began airing on Eden Channel in 2013. Seasons 1 and 2 were also broadcast on Animal Planet Europe, while season 3 was premiered on Nat Geo Wild UK and later screened on Nat Geo Wild Europe & Africa in 2017. It is presented by Nigel Marven, who travels around the world and in each hour-long episode he counts down his list of ten deadliest snakes in each different country or continent. The series is produced by Image Impact.
Big Cats with Nigel Marven was a one-hour nature documentary presented by Nigel Marven and first broadcast on ITV in 2001.
