Huge python caught a second time around
A 4.2 meter South African Rock Python dubbed, Houdini, was caught by Kinyonga Reptile Centre at the Blyde Mountain Country Lodge on July 15.
Not only is it her size or weight, a whopping 44kg, that makes her special, this was the second time this female python gave the Kinyonga team a run for their money.
Four months ago, Donald Strydom, the owner of Kinyonga, saved the python from a bush clearing operation in Hoedspruit.
The snake had eaten a large meal the size of an impala ram and was stuck in a pile of tangled trees a bulldozer was pushing together.
“I had to cut a tunnel into the twisted pile to reach the already traumatized and overheated snake in order to rescue it and take it to the Kinyonga Reptile Centre,” said Strydom.
The team from Kinyonga secured the snake in an appropriate holding cage for the night in order to measure, weigh and check for any health issues before releasing the snake the next day.
Houdini pulled a fast one on them, as far as they could track it, towards the Blyde River.
On July 15 they received a call from the Country Lodge informing them that a large python was moving around on their property and Kinyonga rushed out to rescue the snake.
Recognizable by a scar on the neck, they were surprised to find that it was indeed Houdini.
It didn’t get away the second time around and Strydom and his team were able to do a thorough check up.
