Burmese python gobbles up island goat, no kidding

Kenneth Foo

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

No meal is too big for a hungry python. That is what staff at the Shek Kwu Chau Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre discovered when they came upon a four- meter-long Burmese python that swallowed their resident goat.

A staff member, surnamed Kwan, said the snake was seen about 7am yesterday in the middle of a grassy patch with a huge bulge in its mid-section.

It was immediately suspected of swallowing the goat kept by the center to provide a form of animal therapy for recovering male addicts.

“The snake was bloated and couldn’t move at all, so it was easy for a few of us to trap it with a dog cage,” Kwan said.

The python was made to purge itself of the dead goat, which was the size of a Golden Retriever.

Police soon arrived at the scene with a snake-catcher and together they transported the culprit to nearby Cheung Chau police station.

It is now awaiting transfer to an animal management center run by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department in Sheung Shui.

A department spokeswoman said after assessing its physical condition, the reptile – Burmese pythons are protected under the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance – will be released to the countryside.

Growing up to six meters in length and 80 kilograms in weight, the python feeds mostly on birds and small mammals, but has been known to attack pets on rare occasions.

However, there is minimal public safety risk, as pythons are not known to attack humans, intrepid snake handler William Sargent said.