Albino Python That Terrorized Trailer Park for Six Months Captured

A huge albino python that terrorized a trailer park for months has finally been captured.

The yellow-hued snake, measuring around 8 feet long, was captured from the Burntwood Mobile Home Park in Oklahoma City by the Oklahoma Exotics Rescue and Sanctuary, a local animal shelter.

The reticulated python had been on the loose at the trailer park for six months, and is suspected to have eaten a number of pet cats that had gone missing during the period. The snake was discovered hiding beneath one of the homes at the park.

"Just to keep everyone informed the albino snake that was loose in Oklahoma City at the Burntwood trailer park is safe," Oklahoma Exotics Rescue & Sanctuary captioned a Facebook post sharing pictures of the snake.

"It was found at the trailer park early this morning by one of the homeowners, the staff then called the rescue to come and get him- he is a fairly healthy albino golden child reticulated python and we will be rehabbing him and getting him the medical treatment he needs. We just wanted to let all you guys know and to thank everyone who helped us and recommended us and kept messaging us about it."

"As you'll notice he is about 8 ft long and has not eaten any cats or any other wild animals recently- I give kudos to the people who caught him because, clearly finding these guys is no easy feat!" they wrote.

Reticulated pythons are the longest species of snake in the world, growing up to 20 feet long in some cases. These snakes, native to South and Southeast Asia, kill their prey via suffocation rather than venom, crushing victims using their long muscular bodies.

The snake was previously thought to be around 13 feet long. The fact it is 8 feet long shows it's younger than first thought.

"He has an upper respiratory infection, a few scuffs and cuts, and mites. He was also in the middle of a bad shedding (hence the old skin stuck to him)," Brittney Wilkins, co-owner of Oklahoma Exotics and Rescue told Newsweek.

The python appeared to not have eaten for some time before it was rescued, Wilkins explained.

"My understanding is that he was found at about 1am by the occupants of one of the trailers, very near where the original picture/video of him was taken back in august. Under some trash receptacles (trying to find a warm location due to our cold nights.) They placed him into a laundry basket and taped it shut. The park maintenance then got him the next morning and advised us to come and get him," Wilkins said.

"His rehabilitation will take approximately 5-6 months and we're so glad he was caught before the large cold front hit the next weekend. The cold would have killed him, as our weather hill will not allow them to live through it. Pythons don't hibernate in nature so they don't "know" how to."

As the snake is an albino—born without the pigment melanin—it's likely an escaped pet. While its suspected cat-eating shenanigans have not been confirmed, its size and breed make it a prime suspect.

"I would assume that a snake like this would consider domestic cats as prey and so it would not surprise me if it consumed cats and small dogs," Graham Alexander, a professor of herpetology, at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, previously told Newsweek.

Regardless, residents of the trailer park are relieved that their serpentine squatter has been removed.

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Update 11/02/23 2:26 p.m.: This article was updated with comment from Wilkins.