Dave Rose, the great-uncle, of Noah and
Connor Barthe, aged 5 and 7, said the
family had been guests of a pet store
owner, Jean-Claude Savoie, and his
young son, and had spent the day in
Campbellton in the east of Canada.
The snake, an African rock python,
apparently escaped from its enclosure,
slithered through a ventilation system and
fell through the ceiling into the room where
the young boys were sleeping, authorities
said. They had been visiting the apartment
of a friend whose father owned an exotic
pet store on the floor below.
A snake expert said it was possible that the
python was spooked and simply clung to
whatever it landed on.
Authorities on Wednesday planned to
remove other animals from the pet shop,
though Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Sgt. Alain Tremblay said the 4.3-meter (14-
foot) python had been kept inside the
apartment. Police are treating the deaths in
Campbellton, New Brunswick, as a
criminal investigation.
Tremblay said the snake was housed in a
large glass enclosure that reached the
ceiling of the apartment and escaped
through a small hole in the ceiling
connected to the ventilation system. He
said the snake made its way through the
ventilation system, the pipe collapsed and
the snake fell.
The friend of the boys was sleeping in
another room and was unharmed.
The pet store owner, Jean-Claude Savoie,
has told a television station that he didn't
hear a sound and discovered the "horrific
scene" when he went into his living room
on Monday morning.
Police said the snake was killed by a
veterinarian. It was sent for a necropsy to
confirm the type of snake and help
understand what may have caused it to
attack.
Anne Bull, a spokeswoman for the New
Brunswick's Natural Resources
department, said the African rock python is
not permitted in the province and said the
department had no knowledge of the
existence of the snake prior to this week's
tragedy.
Bull said the department has obtained a
search warrant for the store and said a
number of exotic animals were discovered
while police were investigating.
"If we discover any illegal exotic animals,
they will be seized and efforts will be made
to relocate them to accredited zoos," Bull
said in an emailed statement.
Reptile expert Bry Loyst, curator of the
Indian River Reptile Zoo in Ontario, said
the New Brunswick government has asked
him for help in removing animals from the
pet store and taking them to accredited
zoos elsewhere in the country.
Loyst said police told him it wasn't the first
time that the python had escaped. Royal
Canadian Mounted Police Const. Julie
Rogers-Marsh said she could not confirm
that because she had not heard that.
Paul Goulet, founder and co-owner of Little
Ray's Reptile Zoo in Ottawa, said snakes
don't recognize humans as a source of food,
but if the children smelled like animals, it
could explain an attack.
"If a snake sees an animal moving, giving
off heat and smells like a goat, what is it?
It's a goat," Goulet said.
Family spokesman Dave Rose, the boys'
great-uncle, said the brothers had spent
Monday at Savoie's family farm and played
with llamas, goats, horses and dogs and
cats before staying over at the apartment.
Snake expert John Kendrick, a manager at
the Reptile Store in Hamilton, Ontario, said
that if pythons are startled, they can grab
something for stability, and it's possible
that the python was just holding on to what
it landed on, Kendrick said.
"Once they are in constricting mode, any
part of their body that is touching
something that moves, they'll wrap it," he
said. "I've seen snakes with two different
prey items at the same time, one with the
back of the body and one with the front. It
could have been an incident like that."
Connor Barthe, aged 5 and 7, said the
family had been guests of a pet store
owner, Jean-Claude Savoie, and his
young son, and had spent the day in
Campbellton in the east of Canada.
The snake, an African rock python,
apparently escaped from its enclosure,
slithered through a ventilation system and
fell through the ceiling into the room where
the young boys were sleeping, authorities
said. They had been visiting the apartment
of a friend whose father owned an exotic
pet store on the floor below.
A snake expert said it was possible that the
python was spooked and simply clung to
whatever it landed on.
Authorities on Wednesday planned to
remove other animals from the pet shop,
though Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Sgt. Alain Tremblay said the 4.3-meter (14-
foot) python had been kept inside the
apartment. Police are treating the deaths in
Campbellton, New Brunswick, as a
criminal investigation.
Tremblay said the snake was housed in a
large glass enclosure that reached the
ceiling of the apartment and escaped
through a small hole in the ceiling
connected to the ventilation system. He
said the snake made its way through the
ventilation system, the pipe collapsed and
the snake fell.
The friend of the boys was sleeping in
another room and was unharmed.
The pet store owner, Jean-Claude Savoie,
has told a television station that he didn't
hear a sound and discovered the "horrific
scene" when he went into his living room
on Monday morning.
Police said the snake was killed by a
veterinarian. It was sent for a necropsy to
confirm the type of snake and help
understand what may have caused it to
attack.
Anne Bull, a spokeswoman for the New
Brunswick's Natural Resources
department, said the African rock python is
not permitted in the province and said the
department had no knowledge of the
existence of the snake prior to this week's
tragedy.
Bull said the department has obtained a
search warrant for the store and said a
number of exotic animals were discovered
while police were investigating.
"If we discover any illegal exotic animals,
they will be seized and efforts will be made
to relocate them to accredited zoos," Bull
said in an emailed statement.
Reptile expert Bry Loyst, curator of the
Indian River Reptile Zoo in Ontario, said
the New Brunswick government has asked
him for help in removing animals from the
pet store and taking them to accredited
zoos elsewhere in the country.
Loyst said police told him it wasn't the first
time that the python had escaped. Royal
Canadian Mounted Police Const. Julie
Rogers-Marsh said she could not confirm
that because she had not heard that.
Paul Goulet, founder and co-owner of Little
Ray's Reptile Zoo in Ottawa, said snakes
don't recognize humans as a source of food,
but if the children smelled like animals, it
could explain an attack.
"If a snake sees an animal moving, giving
off heat and smells like a goat, what is it?
It's a goat," Goulet said.
Family spokesman Dave Rose, the boys'
great-uncle, said the brothers had spent
Monday at Savoie's family farm and played
with llamas, goats, horses and dogs and
cats before staying over at the apartment.
Snake expert John Kendrick, a manager at
the Reptile Store in Hamilton, Ontario, said
that if pythons are startled, they can grab
something for stability, and it's possible
that the python was just holding on to what
it landed on, Kendrick said.
"Once they are in constricting mode, any
part of their body that is touching
something that moves, they'll wrap it," he
said. "I've seen snakes with two different
prey items at the same time, one with the
back of the body and one with the front. It
could have been an incident like that."
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