Python snake coiled around its eggs at Manas National Park, Assam

From the archive record

Ants seeping through Python eggs. Python wrapped around her clutch of eggs. The eggs readily stick together to form a clump which can be cared for by the female until they hatch. The Pythonidae, commonly known simply as pythons, from the Greek word python, are a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia and Australia. Among its members are some of the largest snakes in the world. Eight genera and 26 species are currently recognized. Pythons are found in sub-Saharan Africa, Nepal, India, Burma, southern China, Southeast Asia and from the Philippines southeast through Indonesia to New Guinea and Australia. In the United States, an introduced population of Burmese pythons, Python molurus bivittatus, has existed as an invasive species in the Everglades National Park since the late 199