Police remove ‘pet’ three metre python from Chinese residential compound
Unconscious reptile probably fell during escape bid from owner’s flat
Police have removed a “pet” python more than three metres long from a residential compound in eastern China, according to a local newspaper.
The giant snake was discovered by a family taking a stroll after dinner on Saturday in
Wenzhou, Zhejiang province on Saturday, the Hangzhou Daily reported, and their screams drew security guards and other residents to the scene.
The snake was lying on the pavement under a residential building. The golden coloured reptile, weighing at least 20kg, was motionless near a pool of blood.
Five policemen, believing the snake was dead, carried it to police station but soon found it was still alive, writhing inside the bag.
A police officer said the python was likely a pet. It might have escaped from the window of its owner’s apartment and dropped to the ground, resulting in the injury.
Other Wenzhou citizens have kept similar snakes as pets but turned them over to animal protection groups after the animal, usually juveniles about 30cm long, grow to more than three metres in about two years.
The gold python, most likely an albino Burmese python popular with collectors, is now under the care and custody of Wenzhou Zoo. It is an endangered species protected by law and prohibited to be raised as pet, Wenzhou police said.
