MERSING, Jan 2 — An 80-kilogramme python was captured by Civil Defence Force personnel after it was found near a goat shed in Kampung Air Papan Tengah here late last night.
The snake was believed to have been looking for food within the shed before it was spotted by several villagers who alerted the Civil Defence Force.
Mersing Civil Defence Force officer Captain (CD) Nurnajibah Abdullah said the operation to catch and secure the python was mounted after receiving reports from villagers at 11.42pm last night.
She said three Civil Defence Force personnel, led by Deputy Lieutenant (CD) Mohd Syaful Bahri Sarmin were involved in the operation.
“Upon arrival at the location, the Civil Defence Force personnel found a snake at about five metres above the goat’s shed.
“According to information received from the complainants, the python was also believed to have devoured one of the villager’s chickens," said Nurnajibah in a statement here today.
Nurnajibah said the operation to took 15 to 20 minutes as the snake had wrapped itself around one of the shed’s pillars to avoid capture.
“Following that, the python has been successfully secured at the Mersing District Civil Defence Force operations control centre and will be handed over to the state Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan),” she said.
In Malaysia, it is not uncommon to read of python sightings and capture in urban and rural areas.
Most of the pythons in Malaysia are reticulated python (Malayopython reticulatus) that is native to South and South-east Asia.
It is the world's longest snake and listed as least concern due to its wide distribution.
The reticulated python is also among the three heaviest snakes. Like all pythons, it is a non-venomous constrictor, but can be fatal to humans if the python coils itself on a person.
