WHEN a massive predator targets livestock, it raises questions about safety and rural life.
Recently, it was said that a slithering surprise awaited some unsuspecting goats at Kampung Tebing Tinggi, near Baling in Kedah.
Is it true that a python was caught as it attempted to nab a mutton meal?
VERDICT:
TRUE
A five-metre-long python weighing 90kg was caught in a village in Baling as it slithered towards some goats.
Baling district Civil Defence officer Lt Mohd Faizol Abd Aziz said they responded to a call from a villager who spotted the snake near her goat enclosure next to a rubber plantation on Monday (May 26).
"A rescue team was dispatched at around 5.10pm and it took them half an hour to catch the snake. The python was seen heading towards the goat enclosure,” he said when contacted.
“Fortunately, the owner responded quickly preventing any harm to the goats. No one was injured," added Mohd Faizol.
He then said that this is the largest snake caught in the district so far this year.
"This is the 66th snake we have caught so far this month.This month we have caught various types of snakes including venomous and non-venomous ones like the king cobra, the monocled (Indian spitting cobra), mangrove snake and the radiated ratsnake” said Mohd Faizol.
He added that pythons are common in the area, and said that one had been caught that weighed 130kg.
“This python will be handed over to the Wildlife and National Parks Department.We (the Civil Defence) are always prepared to handle such situations involving large or venomous snakes,” said Mohd Faizol.
He then said that the public is advised to remain vigilant and immediately contact us if they encounter dangerous animals in their area.
Pythons are non-venomous snakes that kill their prey by constricting their victims with their bodies, suffocating them rather than injecting venom.
Large pythons can inflict serious bites and kill by constriction.
