World Longest Python Found in Malaysia

World Longest Python Found in Malaysia

This could be the longest snake ever caught.

The reticulated python, a specie found in southeast Asia, is estimated to be 8m (26ft).

It was spotted curled under a tree by workers building a new flyover in Paya Terubong on the holiday island of Penang.

The Civil Defense Department who took about half an hour to capture the snake told the Guardian newspaper: "It is 8m in length and weighs about 250kg (551lbs)."

The Guinness Book of World Records shows the current record holder is Medusa, a 7.3m (24ft) reticulated python which lives in Missouri in the United States and officials will have to verify that the snake is the longest ever captured before it can be officially confirmed as a record breaker.

It is currently being held at the civil defense headquarters, but will be handed to the state wildlife department.

There could still be longer snakes living in the wild.

In 1912, a python found and shot in Indonesia was reported to be 10m (33ft).

And in 2009, scientists in Colombia found the fossilised bones of a snake that is believed to have reached 12.8m (42ft).