Family of Pythons Found in Restaurant Drain in Shah Alam

By Subaashinee Kupusamy,

SHAH ALAM, 9 August: In a startling discovery, 28 baby pythons and their mother were found inside a drain behind a restaurant in Section 20, Selangor. The Selangor Fire and Rescue Department received a distress call about the snakes at 9:56 p.m. on Wednesday. A team of six firemen from Shah Alam responded to the scene.

Upon arrival, the firemen discovered the newborn pythons and their mother in the drain. Using poles with loops, they managed to safely capture the snakes and release them into a nearby jungle.

Veterinarian Dr. Lohanthira Kumaar, a wildlife specialist, expressed surprise at finding all the hatchlings with their mother. Typically, baby pythons and the adult python separate shortly after hatching. Dr. Kumaar noted that only a few hatchlings usually survive to adulthood, as they often fall prey to larger predators like the King Cobra.

Reptile enthusiast Francis Poh was also astonished by the unusual grouping of the hatchlings and their mother. Poh explained that it is uncommon for pythons to stay together after hatching. Although non-venomous, large pythons can inflict serious injuries with their sharp teeth and constricting coils.

Python expert Zakwan Fadzil identified the snakes as reticulated pythons, a protected species in Malaysia. He speculated that the mother python and her hatchlings had been in the drain for two to three months, during which the female would not eat and would become very hungry after the hatchlings emerged.