A montage of before and after pictures show a snake with a large bulge. A later picture shows what the snake had ingested: the body of a small boy.

WARNING! The pictures are not for the faint of heart. Parental guidance is suggested.

See the pictures here.

I don't know. I'm not sure I want to know.

The pictures are being circulated with a variety of stories explaining the pictures. Given the wide variety of locations and circumstances the pictures purportedly were taken, the stories can't all be true. However, this does not prove the photos are faked, either.

After closely examining the pictures for some time, I was not able to spot anything that would cast doubt on their authenticity.

I submitted the photographs to the Urban Legend Zeitgeist Board of Experts. Their conclusion was much the same as mine: "Bleccch!" But they saw no evidence of fakery either and leaned towards accepting the photographs as authentic.

The before pictures show a snake in the bed of a small pickup truck. The third picture showing the dissected snake and the body of the boy is set in a different location. The bodies have been moved from the truck and the ropes and tackle have been removed from the snake. The white diamond markings on the snake appear to be the same in the before and after photographs. Given that there are least two photographers taking pictures, it is not particularly surprising that the after photo is so different in appearance from the before pictures.

However, the claim that 'a really big snake ate a human' rests entirely on the third photograph. The first two 'before' pictures may be unrelated to the third 'after' picture. Only the third photo shows what the snake ate - if it is genuine.

Can the photos be judged authentic on their own? Not in my opinion. Without backing details - when, where and who - a conclusion is elusive.

Click here for more idle speculation.

The Urban Legend Zeitgeist thrives on debunking but would rather not take on investigations like this every day, at least not right before or after meals.

Web references:

• Snake Food from the Urban Legend Reference Pages

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