We had some visitors at our house recently. They were from Australia, so we took them out for a nice dinner (you gotta treat the Aussies right). We were about 20 minutes away from our house. We pointed to a large area of vacant land with lots of trees and low lying bushes and said, "That's where the man was killed by the python last week."
It's not very often that you say things like that, and it felt odd to even utter the words. But it was true... A 14 foot python had been spotted in an area of trees near a recently closed hotel. Some local security guards were recruited in order to find and capture the big snake. One of the guys helping in the search did find the python. He grabbed it and carried it out of the trees. It's unclear whether his intent was to sell the snake or take it home to show to friends. In the whole process of getting it out to the main road, the snake strangled the man and escaped back into the forest. Several of the other men witnessed all this happening, but could not or would not help. That part is also unclear...The python is still on the loose. The local authorities have warned residents to be alert while in that area.
Big snakes are not uncommon here in Bali. It's always a possibility that you might see one while walking through forests or rice fields. I have a friend that lives up in a mountainous area that raises pythons. He has 30 in and around his house!
