--- description: 10 foot Burmese python Stella bit a female employee at the Bremerton Bug Museum in Washington title: 10-Foot-Long Python Bites Museum Employee and Does Not Let Go image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e645d00b661f59d/698862cd0a4a2241569c5fb4/python.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 10-Foot-Long Python Bites Museum Employee and Does Not Let Go  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Sep 9, 2015 6:21 PM CUT  Michael Blann—Getty Images  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Sep 9, 2015 6:21 PM CUT A 10-foot python bit a female employee at the Bremerton Bug Museum in Washington because the staffer had not been trained to handle the reptile properly, the institution’s owner told Seattle news station [_King 5 News_](http://www.king5.com/story/news/local/2015/09/08/python-bites-bremerton-museum-employee/71864572/ "undefined"). Stella, the Burmese python who is part of the museum’s reptile exhibit, was aroused by the smell of “thawed rodents” when she was taken into a back room to be fed, prompting her to bite the employee’s leg. When the South Kitsap Fire and Rescue responded to the emergency call, the victim was already soaking in a bucket of water, which the owner Randi Jones said would encourage the snake to let go of the limb. Her leg was finally set free after firefighters “grabbed” the python’s head and “slammed it against the edge of the bucket,” Lt. Glenn Pappuleas said_._ The staffer was taken to a nearby hospital where she was expected to make a full recovery, while a new lock that only Jones can unlock was put on the python’s cage. ### 26 of LIFE’s Best Animal Covers  February 8, 1937 LIFE Magazine cover (photo by Charles J. Belden). LIFE Magazine  March 1, 1937 LIFE Magazine cover (photo by Henry M. Lester). LIFE Magazine  April 26, 1937 LIFE Magazine cover (photo by Torkel Korling). LIFE Magazine  July 26, 1937 LIFE Magazine cover (photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt). LIFE Magazine  January 10, 1938 LIFE Magazine cover (photo by Lane Flinders). LIFE Magazine  December 12, 1938 LIFE Magazine cover (photo by George Karger). LIFE Magazine  April 3, 1944 LIFE Magazine cover (photo by Nina Leen). LIFE Magazine  September 9, 1946 LIFE Magazine cover (photo by Martha Holmes). LIFE Magazine  September 23, 1946 LIFE Magazine cover (photo by Frank Scherschel). 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LIFE Magazine  June 19, 1964 LIFE Magazine cover (photo by Francis Miller). LIFE Magazine  January 6, 1967 LIFE Magazine cover (photo by John Dominis). LIFE Magazine  December 5, 1969 LIFE Magazine cover (photo by John Dominis). LIFE Magazine  LIFE magazine cover of 01-30-1970 w. pic of snow monkey of Japan in water, by Co Rentmeester. 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