A family of four including two small children got the fright of their lives when a huge albino python they had purchased as a pet freed itself from a cardboard box in their car as they drove home.
The four-metre long albino Burmese Python (Python molurus) was supposed to be the new pet of the family from Scheibbs, a small town in Lower Austria.
But as the snake was being transported to its new home it managed to escape from the box and roam free into the car that the family including two small children were travelling in.
Unable to control the snake, they called cops who then asked reptile expert Werner Stangl to help catch the creature.
It turned out the man had hoped to transport the snake, which weighed in at around 40 kilos, in a box that was too small.
He only realised the problem when he arrived in Kapfenberg in the Austrian province of Styria and as an emergency solution he man put the snake in the cardboard box and sealed it with sticky tape before putting it in the car boot.
As the family drove back, the snake broke out of the box and got into the passenger area of the car.
Luckily the snake had been fed and did not attack anyone and the family were able to escape.
Two snake experts were called to catch the snake but could not prize the python out of the car, and so snake expert Wener Stangl was then called and with the help of police was able to remove the snake from the vehicle.
Stangl said: “The snake is in a very well looked after condition. But in my opinion the transport used was completely unsuitable and grossly negligent.”
He told Central European News (CEN): “It has at least put the focus on the need to make sure snakes are properly transported. I have had huge numbers of phone calls from all around the world ever since this appeared here in local media.”
The seller of the snake as well as the buyer face charges. The snake is currently being looked after by Werner Stangl.
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Story By: Kathryn Quinn, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
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