A burmese python shocked guests at a holiday park when it suddenly appeared outside. The ‘humongous’ size of the snake was so large that it took three people to pick it up
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Burmese python snake was found outside a holiday park in Dorset
Guests in a holiday park were horrified when a giant Burmese python slithered past the window.
The snake, 14 feet long, was spotted by people enjoying their holiday in Monkton Wyld Holiday Park in West Dorset. Peter Bacon, a local, said: “It was humongous. I stopped my van and took a picture to show my wife and put it on Facebook in case someone recognised it.”
Vets notified expert Simon Prentice, who said that, to begin with, he believed the story to be a hoax. Prentice, who owns a reptile shop in Ilton, Somerset, said: “At first I thought it was a hoax, or someone was exaggerating the size but it was 14ft… It weighs a ton and it took three of us to lift it into the van.”
A previous owner came forward to say they recognised the python but had sold it during the Covid lockdown. It is not clear why the python was found in the holiday park and if it had escaped, but it is believed the reptile could have been dumped because of the cost of feeding it.
Prentice said he plans to keep the snake and is now trying to raise the funds for an enclosure. Adult Burmese pythons require a diet of large meals that include rabbits or rats around once every four to six weeks, according to pet and aquarium supply shop Swallow Aquatics.
According to Seaworld, adult Burmese pythons can grow up to six metres long and weigh around 90 kilograms. They can live over 20 years, with the longest recorded living for over 28 years.
The species is native to Southeast Asia, from Pakistan to Indonesia, Seaworld said, but make popular pets because they are a “calm” species. As a result, their popularity in the pet trade has “exploded” in recent years.
Seaworld said: “Burmese python populations are suffering from a variety of factors, including an ever-expanding human population and loss of habitat. These large snakes are also hunted extensively for their skins, which are used in the leather trade.”
Snakes often invite fear among humans, but animal experts call reports about Burmese pythons preying on humans a common “myth” or “unfounded.” They usually seek out smaller prey and aim to kill them by suffocating them; they are not venomous.
