World’s longest snake caught in Panang, Malaysia




A new World Record for the longest snake ever caught may have just been set, with the reported discovery and capture of a gigantic reticulated python on a building site in Malaysia. Early estimates are claiming that the snake, spotted by workers during the construction of a flyover in Paya Terubong on the popular tourist island of Penang, measures eight metres in length.

If these reports are confirmed, the snake will slither into the record books, sliding past the previous holder of the record, another reticulated python called Medusa, who is currently kept in captivity in The Edge of Hell Haunted House in Kansas City. According to the 2011 edition of the Guinness Book of Records, Medusa stretches to 7.67 metres and weighs in at 158.8kg.

Talking to the Guardian, Herme Herisyam from Malaysia’s civil defence force—who photographed workers holding the super serpent—described how builders chanced upon the creature on Thursday, and then contacted emergency services, who took half an hour to trap the snake. ‘It is eight metres in length and weighs about 250kg,’ he told the paper.

Green anacondas are the world's biggest snake in overall size
Green anacondas are the world’s biggest snake in overall size

Reticulated pythons are the longest known species of snake, although the green anaconda is a much bigger creature in overall body size and weight. Female anacondas can regularly reach five metres, and possibly grow much longer, but the water-dwelling snake’s remote habitat in South America means they are seldom encountered and the biggest reliably recorded specimen was 5.21 metres (despite anecdotal reports of much bigger beasts having been spotted). A $50,000 cash reward is apparently offered for anyone who can catch an anaconda 30 ft (9.1 m) or longer.