Still no sign of six-foot python loose in Seattle’s Ravenna neighborhood
Aug 13, 2012, 2:36 PM | Updated: Aug 14, 2012, 11:35 am
An albino Burmese python, much like the one pop star Britney Spears holds in the photo above, has reportedly on the loose and likely hiding out in Cowen/Ravenna Park.
There’s still no sign of a six-foot yellow python that got loose in Seattle’s Cowen Park Monday.
Police and animal control officers searched the Ravenna neighborhood after the owner told police his albino Burmese Python escaped into a wooded area near NE 61st Street and Brooklyn Avenue.
Don Jordan with Seattle Animal Control says there’s no active search underway Tuesday because it would be like trying to find “a needle in a haystack.”
“Because we don’t believe this animal is of significant risk to humans it’s just a matter of wait and see when the animal comes out either for seeking heat or prey.”
Jordan warns owners of small cats or puppies should take precautions and keep to walking paths.
Pythons are usually afraid of humans due to their tall stature and will avoid people, but they have the potential to be dangerous.
Peter Miller with Woodland Park Zoo estimates that the snake is somewhere between 15 to 20 pounds.
Pythons are ambush predators and they sit and wait for he prey in covered areas.
That doesn’t mean this snake is a natural born hunter. According to Miller, “If this animal has lived in captivity its whole life, it may not know how to hunt.”
Pythons, which are native to Southern and Southeastern Asia, can grow to be 12 feet long in the wild. In captivity, however, the snakes grow to be 7 feet long at most.
Pythons kill their prey by constriction, and often dine on rodents. In Florida, the snakes are considered an invasive species and prey on much larger animals. In the Everglades statistics show foxes and rabbits have nearly disappeared while sightings of raccoons are down by 99.3 per cent, opossums by 98.9 per cent, and white-tailed deer by 94.1 per cent.
Its albino/bright-yellow coloring means it’s a “designer” snake that’s easier for animal control, or joggers, to spot.
If you see the snake, police ask that you call animal control at 206.386.7387 or 911.
