Paya Terubong, Malaysia – What could be the world’s largest snake ever seen alive was captured last Thursday under a tree in Paya Terubong, Malaysia, by the Penang Civil Defence Department. An official told The Guardian it took his team half-hour to subdue the eight-meter-long, record-braking reticulated python. But the 250Kg snake mysteriously died Sunday night just after giving birth.
It remains unclear the cause of its death, but a video released on the Malaysian Star website features a man kicking it, which suggests that the python was not handled properly after its capture. Muhammad Aizat, another member of the town’s Civil Defense Department team, told the BBC that she made have died from the stress of being chased right before giving birth.
Stephen Secor, a professor in the department of University of Alabama’s Biological Sciences, said the Malaysian python could have laid 75 eggs at one time.
An official measurement is yet to be confirmed so it can be documented as the world’s longest python ever seen alive.
The world’s largest reticulated pythons reside in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is home to the longest reticulated pythons in the world, as the beasts are born to grow indefinitely but a slower rate with age. They are known for being slender, rather than heavy.
The current Guinness World Record-holder is Medusa, a 7.6-meter-long reticulated python who lives in Kansas City, at the Edge of Hell Haunted House. The snake, which was caught in October 2011, has eaten a 40-pound deer for dinner. Its predecessor was a bit shorter reticulated python called Fluffy.
Source: Washington Post