A 3-meters-long reticulated python was recovered by the Antipolo City Veterinary Office (CVO) inside an elementary school on Tuesday, Dec. 3, Antipolo City Mayor Jun Ynares said.
He said the more than 1kg python was caught by the CVO inside Muntindilaw Elementary School and was safely turned over to the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO).
Ynares urged residents who may see any snake in their homes to not try to catch, hurt, or kill the animal and instead, immediately call the CVO (8689-4514) or inform their respective barangays.
According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), reticulated pythons are native to the rainforests of Southeast Asia including the Philippines and lives in rain forests, woodlands, grasslands, rivers and nearby streams, and lakes.
The snake's conservation status is currently listed as least concern by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) because of its wide distribution.
According to wildlifelearningcenter.org, these snakes are heavily dependent on water and can often be found near small rivers or ponds and require tropical environments.
It added that these types of pythons can weigh up to 350 lbs. and is considered by many as the largest and longest snake in the world.
The largest reticulated python ever measured was 32 feet, 9.5 inches and holds the record for the largest snake in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records in 1991.