Python on the loose has neighbors worried about pets, kids

Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Residents of a Florida neighborhood said they are worried about their kids and pets after a Burmese python escaped earlier this month and remains on the loose.

Locals in the Ancient Oaks neighborhood of Parrish, in Manatee County, said the snake has been sighted throughout the neighborhood this month.

Helen Borman said her backyard wildlife camera, which she set up to capture images of cougars, bobcats and wild boar, photographed the big snake earlier this month.

"When I checked my camera, I saw there was something on there I had never seen before...I saw this huge snake," Borman told WFLA-TV.

Justin Matthews, of Matthews Wildlife Rescue, looked at the image and confirmed it depicted a Burmese python.

He said the approximately 8-foot snake was most likely an escaped pet, but that doesn't mean it doesn't pose a danger to local children and pets.

"When [potential prey] walks back by, the snake grabs it and then starts constricting," Matthews told WWSB. "It squeezes until the heartbeat stops and then they swallow it whole."

"They get large enough, they could actually kill a full grown man," Matthews said.

Matthews has advised neighbors to call him if they spot the snake so he can safely capture it and move it to his facility for safekeeping.

Residents have reported multiple sightings of the snake in various locations around the neighborhood and tracks found at a local golf course are believed to belong to the serpent.