Official: World's largest snake in Indonesia
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JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Indonesian villagers claim to have captured
a python that is almost 49.21 feet (15 meters) long and weighs
nearly 992.07 pounds (450 kilograms), a local official said
Monday.
If confirmed, it would be the largest snake ever kept in
captivity.
Local daily, Republika, splashed two photographs on its back page
of a large, fat reptile lying coiled in a box. But it was difficult
to confirm the claim as there were no measuring tapes or objects
beside the snake to compare its size.
Hundreds of people have flocked to see the snake at a primitive
zoo in Curugsewu village on the country's main island of Java, the
daily reported.
Local government official Rachmat said the reticulated python
measured 49 feet (14.85 meters) and weighed in at 985 pounds (447
kilograms ).
The Guinness Book of World Records lists the longest ever
captured snake to be 32 feet (9.75 meters). The heaviest -- a
Burmese Python kept in Gurnee, Illinois -- weighs 403 pounds (182.76
kilograms), the book said on its Web site.
Republika said the snake, which was caught last year but only
recently put on public display, eats three or four dogs a month.
Reticulated pythons are the world's longest snakes. They are
capable of eating animals as large as sheep, and have been known to
attack and consume humans.
The species is native to the swamps and jungles of Southeast
Asia.
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