Akbar Salubiro, a 25-year-old indonesian palm oil worker, was killed and swallowed whole by a 23-foot reticulated python in March 2018 in West Sulawesi—discovered when villagers cut open a massively distended python and found Akbar’s fully intact body inside, making this the second confirmed adult human fatality from python predation in Indonesia within 12 months.
The Disappearance: March 25-26, 2018
On March 25, 2018, Akbar Salubiro left his home in Mamuju village, West Sulawesi, to harvest palm oil fruit from trees on a small plantation approximately 2 kilometers from the village. This was routine work for Akbar, who performed this task several times weekly to support his family.
When Akbar failed to return home that evening, his wife Muna grew concerned. By the following morning, with still no sign of her husband, she alerted other family members and organized a search party of approximately 30 villagers.
The search focused on the palm oil plantation and surrounding forest. Within hours, searchers made a disturbing discovery: Akbar’s harvesting tools (including his collection bag and machete) lay scattered on the ground beneath a palm tree. Approximately 30 meters away, villagers spotted an massive python with an grotesquely swollen midsection resting in dense undergrowth.
The Grim Discovery
Recognizing the python’s distended state and connecting it to Akbar’s disappearance, villagers feared the worst. Video documentation recorded by multiple villagers shows the recovery process:
- Python measurement: The snake measured approximately 23 feet (7 meters) in length
- Python condition: The snake was lethargic and motionless, in post-feeding torpor
- Bulge size: The midsection bulge measured approximately 40-45cm in diameter
- Recovery decision: Villagers killed the python and cut it open to confirm contents
Upon cutting open the snake’s belly, villagers found Akbar Salubiro’s body fully intact, clothed in his work clothes, positioned head-first deep within the python’s stomach. The graphic video footage was widely circulated on Indonesian social media and subsequently picked up by international news agencies.
Unlike the attack-2017/”>animation–everything-you-need-to-know-about-this-animation-niche”>Wa Tiba case one year earlier, Akbar’s case included video documentation of the entire recovery process, providing even more detailed evidence of python predation on adult humans.
Reconstructing the Attack
Based on evidence at the scene and python hunting behavior, wildlife experts reconstructed the probable attack sequence:
Phase 1: The Ambush
Akbar was harvesting palm fruit from trees in dense plantation growth. Reticulated pythons are known to hunt in palm oil plantations because these areas attract their primary prey: wild pigs, macaques, and rodents drawn to fallen palm fruits.
The python was likely coiled at the base of a palm tree or in nearby vegetation. As Akbar bent to collect fallen fruit or moved between trees, the python struck, achieving a bite-hold and immediately coiling around Akbar’s torso.
The scattered harvesting tools indicate the attack was sudden and overwhelming—Akbar dropped everything and attempted to fight or escape but was quickly overpowered by the python’s coils.
Phase 2: Constriction and Death
Reticulated python constriction kills via circulatory arrest and asphyxiation. Each time the victim exhales, the snake tightens incrementally, preventing inhalation. Simultaneously, pressure on the torso stops blood return to the heart.
For detailed constriction mechanics, see Anaconda Coiling Animation Tutorial.
Akbar likely lost consciousness within 4-7 minutes and died within 10-15 minutes. The python would have maintained constriction for several additional minutes after movement ceased, ensuring prey was completely dead.
Phase 3: Swallowing
After confirming death, the python positioned itself at Akbar’s head and began the laborious swallowing process. For a 25-year-old adult male weighing approximately 125-135 pounds, swallowing would have required 3-5 hours.
The python used independent left-right jaw movement to “walk” its jaws over Akbar’s body, incrementally pulling him into its throat. The shoulders represent the most difficult point—the python’s mandibles must spread laterally to their maximum extent to accommodate human shoulder width.
See jaw mechanics: Python Jaw Animation Mechanics and How Pythons Swallow Prey Whole.
By the time villagers discovered the python the following day (approximately 18-20 hours post-attack), the swallowing was complete and the python had entered digestive torpor.
Why Palm Oil Plantations are High-Risk Zones
Akbar’s death in a palm oil plantation is significant from a wildlife management perspective. Palm oil cultivation creates ideal conditions for python-human conflict:
Prey Concentration
- Fallen fruit attracts rodents: Rats and mice feed on dropped palm fruits
- Rodents attract civets and macaques: Mid-sized mammals feed on both fruit and rodents
- All attract pythons: Pythons hunt wherever prey concentrates
Palm oil plantations essentially function as python feeding stations, guaranteeing regular python presence.
Habitat Structure
- Dense ground cover: Plantations often have thick undergrowth between palm rows, perfect for python concealment
- Limited visibility: Workers focus on trees above, not ground-level threats
- Ambush opportunities: Regular trails between tree rows create predictable human movement patterns
Human Behavior Patterns
- Solitary work: Palm oil harvesting is often done alone
- Distraction: Workers focus on fruit collection, not surroundings
- Bending/crouching: Harvest work puts humans in vulnerable positions
- Regular schedules: Pythons may learn human activity patterns
These factors combine to make palm oil plantations among the highest-risk environments for python encounters in Indonesia.
Comparing Akbar’s Case to Other Fatal Attacks
Akbar Salubiro’s death was the second confirmed fatal python attack on an adult in Indonesia within 12 months:
- March 2017: Wa Tiba (54-year-old woman) in Muna Island, Southeast Sulawesi
- March 2018: Akbar Salubiro (25-year-old man) in Mamuju, West Sulawesi
- June 2022: jahrah (54-year-old woman) in Jambi Province, Sumatra (see full case study)
Patterns across all cases:
- Python size: All cases involved pythons 20-25 feet in length
- Solitary victims: All victims were alone when attacked
- Agricultural/forest setting: All occurred in rural work environments
- Complete consumption: All victims were fully swallowed head-first
- Next-day discovery: All cases were discovered 12-24 hours post-attack
- Successful predation: Unlike defensive bites, all were hunting behavior
- Key difference in Akbar’s case
- Akbar was a young adult male, physically stronger and larger than the female/elderly victims in other cases. This suggests that even physically capable adults are vulnerable when ambushed by large pythons—strength matters little once constriction begins.
- Mandatory pair work: Palm oil companies now require workers to harvest in pairs
- Communication devices: Workers carry cell phones or radios
- Regular check-ins: Workers must report location every 2 hours
- Vegetation management: Ground cover in plantations is kept trimmed to reduce python concealment
- Python removal programs: Large pythons encountered in plantations are relocated or killed
- Initial python discovery: Villagers approach the massively distended snake
- Size assessment: Multiple people measuring the python’s length
- Incision: The cutting process to open the python’s belly
- Body discovery: Akbar’s fully-clothed, intact body inside the snake
- Body removal: Careful extraction of Akbar’s remains
- Python body distension capabilities (visual confirmation of how large prey is accommodated)
- Victim positioning within snake (head-first, body orientation)
- Timeline evidence (based on decomposition state)
- Scale comparison (human size relative to python size)
- Select high-traffic animal trails or feeding areas
- Coil motionless for hours or days
- Rely on camouflage (reticulated pattern breaks up body outline)
- Strike only when prey passes within 1-2 meters
- Strike speed of 8-10 meters per second (impossible to evade)
- Visual assessment: Size, shape, movement pattern
- Chemical sensing: Tongue flicking detects prey scent
- Heat detection: Labial pits detect infrared radiation (warm-blooded prey)
- Vibration: Ground vibrations indicate prey size/weight
- Humans crouching/bending (as Akbar was while harvesting) resemble four-legged prey in size/shape
- Motion patterns while working mimic grazing/foraging animals
- Python’s relatively poor eyesight may not distinguish bipedal humans from quadrupedal prey
- Pythons encounter humans regularly in plantations—should “learn” humans aren’t typical prey
- Successful consumption (multiple cases) reinforces humans as viable prey
- Declining natural prey (deforestation, hunting) may push pythons toward human prey
- During constriction (3-15 minutes)
- Increasingly unlikely. Even with intervention, oxygen deprivation causes brain damage after 4-6 minutes. Removing a fully-coiled python requires 3-5 people and several minutes.
- Post-death (15+ minutes)
- Impossible. Even if discovered during swallowing (hours later), the victim is already deceased.
- 23-foot python jaw span: Approximately 28-32cm vertical gape at maximum opening
- Human shoulder width: Adult male shoulders are 38-42cm wide when relaxed
- Shoulder compression from constriction: Reduces width by 5-8cm (35-37cm)
- Mandibular spread: Python mandibles can spread laterally 10-12cm per side (20-24cm total)
- Combined accommodation: 30cm vertical + 22cm lateral = sufficient for 37cm compressed shoulders
- 7-10 days: Initial tissue breakdown begins
- 20-30 days: Major organs, muscle tissue dissolved
- 35-45 days: Complete digestion including bones
- Indigestible remains: Hair, some clothing fibers may pass through
- Never work alone in dense vegetation or plantation environments
- Maintain visual/verbal contact with work partner at all times
- Carry communication devices (cell phone, radio, whistle)
- Scan ground level before approaching trees or dense growth
- Avoid crouching/bending for extended periods—work from standing position when possible
- Make noise when moving through vegetation—pythons may avoid obvious approaching humans
- Carry defensive tools (machete, stick) even during routine work
- Clear vegetation around regular work areas to eliminate ambush sites
- Report python sightings immediately to supervisors/authorities
- Avoid dawn/dusk work when pythons are most active
Public and Scientific Reaction
Akbar’s death intensified concerns about python-human conflict in Indonesia, particularly because it demonstrated that attacks were not isolated incidents but represented a pattern.
Community Response
West Sulawesi communities implemented stricter safety protocols:
Scientific Analysis
Herpetologists noted several significant aspects of Akbar’s case:
Dr. Dwi Listyorini (Indonesian Institute of Sciences): “The Akbar case, combined with Wa Tiba, confirms a pattern. Reticulated pythons in Indonesia are encountering humans more frequently due to habitat overlap, and in some cases, are treating humans as prey. This requires serious wildlife management response.”
Dr. Mark Auliya (Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research): “What’s concerning is the short time interval—two fatal attacks within 12 months, both in Sulawesi. This may indicate increasing human-python conflict as forests shrink and plantations expand.”
Video Documentation and Evidence
Unlike the Wa Tiba case (primarily documented through photographs), Akbar’s case was captured on video by multiple villagers. The video footage shows:
While graphic and disturbing, this documentation provides invaluable scientific data on:
This documentation helps animators and educators create biologically accurate depictions of python predation, like those featured in Merciless Nature’s creature animation library, including Python Swallowing Indonesian Woman.
Understanding Reticulated Python Behavior
To understand why Akbar was attacked, we must understand reticulated python hunting behavior:
Ambush Predator Strategy
Reticulated pythons are ambush predators, not active hunters. They:
This strategy means pythons don’t “hunt” humans actively—humans simply walk into ambush zones and trigger hunting response.
Prey Size Assessment
Pythons assess prey size via:
A 23-foot python would assess a 125-pound human as within prey size range—comparable to a wild pig or small deer, both regular prey items.
Mistaken Identity or Deliberate Hunting?
There’s scientific debate about whether pythons “mistake” humans for typical prey or deliberately hunt humans:
Mistaken Identity Theory:
Deliberate Hunting Theory:
Most herpetologists lean toward opportunistic predation—pythons recognize humans as different from typical prey but will attack if: (1) prey size is appropriate, (2) human is alone/vulnerable, (3) python is sufficiently hungry, and (4) opportunity presents itself.
Could Akbar Have Survived?
A tragic question that haunts his family: could intervention have saved Akbar?
Survival Windows
During attack (0-3 minutes): Possible survival if another person immediately intervened. Python constriction can be broken if multiple people pull the snake away before it achieves full coil leverage. However, Akbar was alone.
Prevention vs Rescue
The harsh reality: prevention is the only viable strategy. Once a large python achieves constriction on a solitary human, survival requires immediate intervention by others—which is impossible if the victim is alone.
This is why Akbar’s employer (and others across Indonesia) now mandate pair-work in python habitat.
Impact on Akbar’s Family and Community
Beyond the biological and scientific significance, Akbar’s death devastated his family. His wife Muna was left to support their two young children alone. The community rallied to provide financial assistance, but the psychological impact remains.
Akbar’s death also created fear in West Sulawesi palm oil communities. Workers now approach their jobs with heightened anxiety, constantly scanning for pythons. Some refuse to work alone regardless of company policy. Productivity has reportedly decreased as workers spend more time on vigilance and less on harvest.
The python was not relocated or studied—villagers killed it immediately upon discovery, reflecting the community’s view that large pythons near human work areas represent unacceptable threats.
Python Size and Human Prey: The Biomechanics
Understanding why a 23-foot python can consume an adult human requires examining the biomechanics:
Jaw Span Capacity
Akbar, at approximately 125-135 pounds with a relatively slender build, was within the consumable range for this python.
For more on size limits: Largest Snakes Ever Recorded
Digestive Capacity
After consuming Akbar, the python would require:
During this time, the python would remain largely motionless in a secluded location, vulnerable to predators or discovery.
Lessons and Safety Guidelines
Akbar’s death reinforces critical safety guidelines for anyone working in python habitat:
These protocols have been adopted by many Indonesian palm oil companies following Akbar’s death.
Frequently Asked Questions
Was Akbar still alive when the python began swallowing him?
No. Pythons never swallow live prey. The constriction phase kills prey (in Akbar’s case, within 10-15 minutes via cardiac arrest and asphyxiation) before swallowing begins. After prey stops moving, pythons typically maintain constriction for an additional 3-5 minutes to ensure death, then release coils and begin positioning for head-first swallowing. Based on the timeline (attack occurred evening of March 25, body discovered morning of March 26), Akbar died 15-18 hours before discovery. The swallowing process itself began only after death confirmation and took approximately 3-5 hours, ending roughly 12-14 hours before villagers found the python.
Why didn’t Akbar call for help during the attack?
Python attacks unfold with devastating speed. The initial strike and coiling occurs within 3-5 seconds, instantly constricting the victim’s chest and making screaming impossible. Within 30-60 seconds, pressure on the torso prevents sufficient air intake for vocalization. Additionally, Akbar was approximately 2 kilometers from the village in dense plantation—even if he had screamed, it’s unlikely anyone would have heard. His cell phone was found in his discarded collection bag, unreachable once constriction began. This highlights why pair-work protocols are so critical—a nearby partner could provide immediate physical intervention, the only viable defense against python constriction.
Are python attacks increasing in Indonesia, or are they just more reported?
Likely both. Reporting has improved due to cell phones with cameras and social media—incidents that previously went undocumented now receive international attention. However, actual attack frequency may be increasing due to: (1) Habitat loss forcing pythons into agricultural areas where human contact is unavoidable, (2) Declining natural prey populations (wild pigs, deer) from hunting and habitat degradation, potentially pushing pythons toward alternative prey, (3) Expanding palm oil plantation systems that create ideal python habitat while concentrating human workers, (4) Growing human population in rural Sulawesi increasing overlap with python territory. Most herpetologists believe there’s been a real increase, not just improved reporting, with habitat degradation as the primary driver.
Could the same python have attacked other people before Akbar?
Possible but unlikely. A python that successfully consumes large prey enters an extended digestive period (30-45 days) during which it doesn’t hunt. If a python consumed adult prey every 30-45 days, it would be attacking 8-12 people annually—a pattern that would be noticed and reported. More likely, individual pythons attack humans once or twice maximum in their lifetime, if at all. However, some herpetologists theorize that pythons successful in human predation may be more likely to repeat the behavior if opportunity presents itself. The question remains debated, but there’s no evidence of any individual python being a serial human predator. More commonly, multiple attacks in a region reflect multiple different pythons, all responding to the same environmental factors (habitat overlap, prey scarcity) that make human predation an occasionally viable strategy.
What happened to Akbar’s remains after recovery?
After extraction from the python, Akbar’s body was transported to a local medical facility for examination, though Indonesia’s rural areas often lack forensic pathology resources for detailed autopsy. His family then received his remains for Islamic burial according to local custom, which typically occurs within 24 hours of death. The python was not preserved for scientific study—villagers killed it at the scene and disposed of the carcass. This is common in rural Indonesia where communities view large pythons as immediate threats requiring elimination, not scientific specimens. Some conservationists lament the loss of research opportunities, but community safety concerns understandably take precedence. Akbar’s case documentation comes primarily from witness accounts and video footage taken by villagers, rather than formal forensic analysis.
Related Articles: Wa Tiba Python Attack 2017 | Jahrah Python Attack 2022 | How Pythons Swallow Prey Whole | Python Jaw Animation Mechanics
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