“It was a scene a bit reminiscent of ‘The Jungle Book'” 🐍
A motorbike rider was traveling down a quiet country lane in the United Kingdom when he noticed a 10-foot-long snake crawl across the road just in front of him. He was surprised because it wasn’t a typical occurrence, and he instantly assumed the snake had been abandoned.
Not knowing what else to do, he phoned the police, who subsequently contacted the RSPCA for assistance. When RSPCA inspector Justin Stubbs arrived, he saw the massive snake had slithered up into a tree. The poor snake was obviously afraid and bewildered, and all it wanted to do was find a secure spot to hide.
Before Stubbs arrived, there were probably many people driving by who were all astonished and perplexed to find a gigantic snake just hanging out in a nearby tree.
“I couldn’t believe it when I got there and saw this gigantic snake all the way up in the tree – it was like something out of ‘The Jungle Book,'” Stubbs said in a press statement. “When I saw the snake so far up in the trees, I realized it was going to be tough to bring him down because of the snake’s height, difficulties obtaining access to him, and the need for additional personnel given the snake’s size.” I called Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service, and they came out to assist me.”
The rescue crew worked together to carefully remove some of the branches that surrounded the snake, making it easier to approach him. Once they had free access, they cut the limb the snake was resting on, and both the snake and the branch fell onto a big tarp held out by rescuers below.
Once the snake was securely removed from the tree, Stubbs wrapped him in a duvet cover and rushed him to a local doctor for examination and treatment.
“It’s a reticulated python approximately 10 feet long,” Stubbs added. “We believe he or she was loose for some time since they were chilly and underweight.” Over my 25 years with the RSPCA, I’ve rescued hundreds of creatures from trees, including cats, birds, foxes, and numerous snakes, but I wasn’t expecting to see this lovely animal wrapped high up around tree branches in the English countryside!”
Everyone believed the excitement was finished once the snake was cared for — until four days later, when another python was discovered crawling around in the same region as the original one.
“I couldn’t believe it when I got the call that another one had been recovered in almost precisely the same area,” Stubbs said. “I’m afraid it’s no coincidence; it appears that these sad creatures were abandoned or escaped from the same location.”
The snake was promptly rescued and returned to his companion. Fortunately, the second snake had not considered scaling a tree for protection, so his rescue was much easier than the first.
“When this second snake was discovered, he was extremely chilly and considerably thinner than the first python, who was suffering from a slight health ailment,” Stubbs added. “Both snakes are currently being cared for at a specialized facility and are being kept warm by heat lamps to maintain a healthy body temperature.”
While the RSPCA is glad that they were able to save the missing snakes, they hope there are no more out there. The snakes are now secure in the hands of experts, and they will never have to worry about hiding in trees or slithering over roadways again.
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