The young snake was first spotted by the owner of a flower shop near Vachira Phuket Hospital on Yaowarat Rd, Phuket Town.
She heard the screaming of a rat and went out to investigate. Asking not to be named, the elderly woman said, “I heard the rat screaming and saw the snake eating it in the gutter in front of my shop. I was shocked. I tried to chase the snake off with a stick.”
The snake, disturbed in the middle of its supper, headed for the first safe place it could find, climbing up under a pickup truck parked nearby. Not knowing who owned the truck, the shop keeper called the police.
Alerted by the police, three Kusondharm Foundation staffers were quickly on the scene. Watched by a crowd of onlookers, they spent about 30 minutes untangling the reluctant snake from the underbelly of the truck.
The volunteers dropped the snake in a bag. It was later released in the forest. It is not known whether the rat was still in the snake or whether it escaped.
Pythons are among the world’s largest snakes. Fully grown, they can reach as long as 5.5 metres.