Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about biodiversity and the hidden quirks of the natural world. More than 4,200 species of snakes exist on the planet and ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Reticulated pythons are the longest snakes in the world, capable of reaching 20 feet or more and weighing well over 200 pounds.

Coming face-to-face with a large snake is enough to make most people freeze. In this short video circulating online, however, two boys do the opposite — stepping in when they see a large python ...