2.5-metre Burmese python captured in Hong Kong after swallowing cat

A Hong Kong snake handler captured a 2.5-metre (8.2-foot) long python that swallowed a stray cat near a village house in Ma On Shan on Saturday morning.

Police received a report at around 6.25am from a Chek Nai Ping Village resident who discovered the python attacking the cat outside a home.

A snake handler was called to the scene and captured the Burmese python, which was placed in a cloth bag and transferred to the Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden for handling.

According to the force, the startled python regurgitated the stray cat while it was being captured.

The cat did not survive, with its body being handled by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department.

Ivan Li Yat-long, the handler called to the scene, said the python was medium-sized and recalled that the longest such snake he had ever caught in Hong Kong was about four to five metres in length.