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The snakes kill their prey by coiling around it and suffocating it. While many were apparently released by their owners, others may have escaped from pet shops during Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and have been reproducing ever since. Tens of thousands of Burmese pythons are believed to be living in the Everglades, where they thrive in the warm, humid climate. "A 17 ½-foot snake could eat anything it wants," Krysko said. The python had feathers in its stomach that scientists plan to use to identify the types of wildlife it was eating. "'There's nothing stopping them and the native wildlife are in trouble." "It means these snakes are surviving a long time in the wild," said Kenneth Krysko, a snake expert at the Florida Museum of Natural History, where the euthanized snake was brought. Scientists said the python's stats show just how pervasive the invasive snakes, which are native to Southeast Asia, have become in South Florida. The snake was pregnant with 87 eggs, also said to be a record. Clumps of proteins form inside the snake, leading to bacterial infections, neurological problems, withering and eventually, death.Īlthough the disease was well known, its cause was a mystery until now. The virus appears to cause a condition called "inclusion body disease" in zoo animals and exotic pets. Scientists say the illness is a new set of viruses known as "arenaviruses," which were not previously known to infect reptiles, though they were known to infect rodents. Wednesday, maintenance experts in plumbing and HVAC helped search pipes and ductwork in the store.A mysterious disease afflicting pythons and boas in captivity has been decoded by University of California, San Francisco researchers. The Blue Zoo was closed Tuesday and Wednesday for the search. Store operators have said the snake is non-venomous and is "friendly." "That presents a problem already," the animal control operator said.Ĭara, a 12-foot Burmese python, weighs about 150-pounds. They were certain at the time the snake wasn't able to leave the store area, although they wanted assurance: in the roofing area of our facility, we don't think she has access outside of our facility." Now, the mall of Louisiana is closed because there's a 12-foot Burmese python loose," workers told animal control agents on the phone. "We have track marks and scales and her on camera and everything," the worker said on the call. The search began in earnest with the call to animal control and firefighters helped, too, Tuesday mid-morning. Records show employees believe the snake escaped around 2 a.m. When the store called animal control Tuesday morning, the snake had been missing for more than a day. "I was on the break of going into.shock." "I didn't sleep well," one worker is heard in the background. The store is in the space formerly occupied by Hollister near Dillard's.Īs the operator leaves the conversation briefly, store workers are heard on the recording discussing their stress and shock. The worker said security camera video showed the snake slithering out of its enclosure and entering the store's ceiling.
#Snake escape hurricane professional#
"We've checked all over, but for us to get professional help, is a little more secure," an employee said. "Professional help, you being the professionals, would be greatly appreciated," the worker tells the animal control operator.Īmid some chuckling among those on the call about the bizarre nature of the situation, store employees express some concern. Listen to a recording of the phone call here "We need your help locating our friend," an employee is heard on a recording phoning animal control asking for help. On Wednesday, newly-released audio recordings of the call for help from the Blue Zoo to animal experts suggested staff watched the snake escape its enclosure and had exhausted their own ability to search when they finally called for help more than a day after the snake got loose. The representative said the team was relieved to find Cara safe and sound. Thursday when they successfully recaptured the 12-foot python. She was released from the vet school's care Thursday afternoon.Īfter being examined by the zoological medicine team at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, Cara the Python is discharged and going home! #WeHeal #LSU #carathepython /Scr3i4tykzĪ Blue Zoo representative who was flown in to take a leading role in the search efforts told WBRZ crews had been searching for Cara day and night, and their efforts met with success around 3:45 a.m. The python, whose name is Cara, was transported to the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine for a health check. BATON ROUGE - After two days of searching the Mall of Louisiana for a python that escaped from the Mall's Blue Zoo aquarium, the snake was finally discovered in a crawl space early Thursday morning.Ĭlick here to watch raw video of a team recapturing the python