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Barbecue lures wild python to residential community

2011-09-06 13:03    Ecns.cn     Web Editor: Wang Fan

(Ecns.cn) – A three-meter python went down the hill to seek food and scared a crowd of people who were grilling in a community of Shenzhen, in southern China's Guangdong Province. The inviting smell of the barbecue was believed to attract the starving animal.

At 8pm Sunday night, a scream ripped through the air over a community in the Futian District of Shenzhen, when a group of people were grilling food and chatting with one another. Mr. Wei was the first to see the python in a tree while barbecuing with some friends under the tree.

According to Wei, they were busy talking and grilling when suddenly a branch fell from the tree and then a rustling sound seemed to be approaching. They first thought it might be a feral cat; however, to their surprise, it was a large python coiled in the tree.

In a panic, they fled the place quickly, and called the police immediately. Some security guards set up a blockade line and alert signs. When the policemen arrived, they tried to drive the python away by using a bamboo pole. Facing the situation, the animal bit the pole in anger, and climbed high to the treetop.

About 10pm, two staff members from the Shenzhen Wildlife Conservation Society arrived on the spot and waited for opportunities until midnight. Because they identified that it was not a poisonous species, they wore gloves and climbed the tree to capture it in the end.

The staff said the python must have come from a nearby hill, and they would keep it in the office for the night and free it the next morning.