Until Monday, someone's pet python was on the loose in riverside county.
An 11 foot Burmese Python was found in rural Riverside County between Perris and Lake Elsinore off Highway 74.
It took four animal control officers to handle the giant snake.
“They have teeth that would break the skin,” said Kim McWhorter, Riverside County's program coordinator with Animal Services. She is an expert on the care of reptiles.
Animal Control Officer Christina Avila took the initial call that a Python was in Perris.
“When I saw it, [I said] wow what am I going to do? Where am I going to put this?” said Christina Avila, Animal Control Officer.
Considering it's natural instinct to wrap around objects and constrict them, Avila knew she would need help just lifting the 50 pound Python.
A second Animal Control officer, Dylan Gates, soon arrived to assist in wrangling the snake into their county truck.
“All it wanted to do was escape,” said Gates. Fortunately a fence confined the snake preventing it from leaving.
Based on it's size, McWhorter believed the Python to be female and someone's pet that may have slithered away over the weekend. No one has yet stepped forward to claim the snake.
