“Edoardo, you’re joking, aren’t you? I’ve lived with Dorato for seven years and he’s never hurt me!”
But his friend remained extremely serious.
According to his interpretation, the behaviors observed in the video could represent a significant risk.
He linked the reptile’s refusal to eat and the positions it adopted to possible preparatory predatory behavior.
In the story, Edoardo claims that Dorato might try to assess Camilla’s
size by lying down next to her and surrounding her body.
He also explains to her that a large python is an animal capable of seizing and compressing prey using its powerful muscles.
Camilla was deeply troubled by this interpretation. Gestures she had considered signs of affection suddenly took on a disturbing meaning in her friend’s words.
An important distinction between narrative and animal behavior
However, it is important to distinguish the explanation given by Edoardo in this story from established knowledge about snakes.
The fact that a python refuses to eat or lies down near a person does not, in itself, allow us to conclude that it is preparing an attack or seeking to measure future prey.
These behaviors do not, therefore, constitute proof of predatory intent. However, the power and size of a large constrictor snake justify serious precautions, regardless of its past behavior.
For Camilla, the essential
message remained the same: seven years of cohabitation without incident were not enough to guarantee absolute security.
A difficult decision to protect everyone
Shaken by the conversation, Camilla decided to follow her friend’s recommendations.
She left the room slowly, without making any sudden movements, then locked the door from the outside so that Dorato could no longer move freely around the house during the night.
This decision was particularly difficult for her. The python had been a part of her life since her sixteenth birthday. She had watched it grow and had devoted daily attention to it for almost seven years.
