It was a battle for the ages. A three-hour struggle between a man-eating snake and, um, a man eating snake.

Kenyan police found farm worker Ben Nyaumbe on Saturday, stuck up a tree, with a 13-foot python (not pictured) coiled around him. The snake had apparently attacked Mr. Nyaumbe and somehow dragged him into the branches, where it was busy trying to make the laborer his lunch before rescue finally arrived.

Not that Nyaumbe was giving up his life without a fight. As well as covering the serpent's murderous jaws with his shirt and using his cell phone to call for help, the plucky Kenyan also took a bite out of the python's tail.

Happily, the rescue party was able to drag the entwined combatants down from the tree using ropes, free Mr. Nyaumbe and take the snake to an animal sanctuary -- from which it promptly escaped.

So, if you're in southeast Kenya and you spot a 13-foot python, take our advice: Check to see if it's missing a chunk from the end of its tail, then run like crazy.