A Widenham resident discovered that a massive python was living near his house after spotting it on a regular basis. This of course prompted the man to contact Scottburgh’s Crocworld Conservation Centre for help.

Wade Kilian, the conservation centre’s reptile curator, attended to the recent callout and was able to assist in no time. “I got a call to say that there’s a very big snake living near house in Widenham, close to the river,” he said. “The man had seen it nearly every day, so I went out to investigate and it turned out to be a gravid (pregnant) southern rock python living in very dense vegetation near the river.”

According to Wade, the capture didn’t take too long. “There was a lot of bundu-bashing to get to her, and I had to go in alone,” he explained.

“I had actually captured a python in this area two years back, coiled around her eggs, and she was relocated further into the green belt, so it could very well have been the same snake. We decided it was in her best interest to relocate her away from humans which we did after the capture.”

He added that as the snake is a protected species, it is illegal to keep or kill, or even capture one without a permit. “They are often poached for traditional medicine, or for their skin and meat. If you do come across one in the mid-KZN South Coast region, we encourage you to call us to relocate it.”

The python rescue was captured on camera and can be viewed HERE.

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