A Perak fire brigade successfully captured an 80-kilo python in Ladang Koposan, Gopeng, two hours north of Kuala Lumpur early this morning.
Emergency services were contacted after local residents spotted the massive serpent at 8:40am this morning. Officials believe that the engorged snake was responsible for the recent disappearance of a goat and a cat.
Six firemen subdued the animal within an hour, and sent the snake to Malaysia’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks for further examination.
The reticulated python is the largest snake native to Asia, and can be found all over Southeast Asia, on both the mainland and islands. They can grow in length to well over six meters, and can weigh up to 75 kilograms on the heavier end of the spectrum, according to a 2002 survey of some 1,000 snakes, meaning our friend caught in Gopeng was particularly hefty (though some of that may have been goat bloat).
Pythons kill via constriction, and their diet is mostly mammals with the occasional bird thrown into the mix. They’ve been known to eat anything from primates, to pigs, to rats, and, when near human settlements, they’ll also sometimes hunt chickens, cats, and dogs.
Attacks on humans are not common, but several cases have been recorded, including a 25-year-old farmer killed in 2017, and another 54-year-old farmer swallowed whole the following year. Both cases occurred in Sulawesi, Indonesia.
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