Seattle python unlikely to have survived

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SEATTLE, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Reptile experts said a nearly 7-foot python lost in a Seattle park likely did not survive a recent cold snap.

Scott Petersen, owner of the Reptile Park in Monroe, said the snake, lost by its homeless owner in Cowen Park Aug. 13, likely did not survive recent cold temperatures and may have contracted pneumonia, The Seattle Times reported Thursday.

"They need to be kept in (temperatures in) the 80s or they get sick," Petersen said. "They'll get pneumonia. They're a tropical species; they can't tolerate these cold nights."

Seattle police spokesman Mark Jamieson said there have been no reported sightings of the python since it was reported missing.

Don Jordan, director of Seattle Animal Control, said the snake's one hope of survival would be taking shelter inside a home's crawlspace.