21 October 2023 , 18:01
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A massive python which is understood to have swallowed a goat whole and terrorised a village has been captured by firefighters.
The 23-ft long snake had been on the prowl for most of the week in Kubang Pasu, Malaysia, and is believed to have swallowed a goat on Thursday. The reptile tips the scales at 308lb - approximately 10 average-sized two-year-old toddlers.
Astonished farmers found the snake it spelt out in an enclosure with a huge goat-shaped lump in its stomach. Experts believe the python was so exhausted from digesting its massive meal that it could not move away. Pictures show the snake stretched out on the ground with a thick lump in the middle of its coils.
Firefighters were called to tame the reptile in Kedah, Malaysia (CEN)Another picture shows one firefighter keeping a tight grip on the python's head while it shows off its massive jaws. Firefighters said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: "We received the report at 8.23am and reached the scene shortly after.
"A total of four members were deployed and arrived at the scene 25 minutes later. After arriving at the location, Kubang Pasu Civil Defence Force members saw that the reticulated python had swallowed a goat that was in the goat pen near the complainant's house. It didn't take long before the crew captured the snake and brought it back to the department."
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The snake was later handed to experts at the Department of Wildlife and National Parks of Peninsular Malaysia to be returned to the wild. The reticulated python, Malayopython reticulatus, is native to South and Southeast Asia. It's considered the world's longest snake and the third heaviest after the green anaconda and the Burmese python. It's listed as "least concern" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due to its wide distribution.