Officers from Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation division at Wichit Municipality (DDPM-Wichit) arrived soon after 8pm to find the snake still on the wall.
“The python was sleeping. It was easy to catch. Our team member Jaruwat Atipongthaworn with help from other team members had it in a box in three minutes,” DDPM-Wichit officer Worasak Songsook told The Phuket News.
“The python was about five meters long and weighed about 15 kilograms. It kept spraying urine [as a defence measure], which was pungent, so we did not check the gender of the python. We just put it in a box,” he said.
Mr Jaruwat, who is the DDPM-Wichit member usually called on to handle snakes, said he suspected the snake was a female.
Mr Worasak was confident that the python caught last night was not the same one believed to have evaded capture in the snaring of another python in Moo 7, Wichit, off Thep Anusorn Rd, earlier this month. (See story here.)
“This python is different. It is a different color and size. This python is smaller,” he said.
“I think this python was looking for something to eat because people living in the area said three cats had disappeared. The cats never came back home,” Mr Worasak said.
The python caught last night was later released into jungle far from any residential area, Mr Worasak added.
“Anyone who wants us to remove a snake, please call us at 076-525199. We’ll come and safely take it away,” he said.