Phuket python caught gobbling up gamecock

PHUKET: A 20-kilogram python was caught eating a prized rooster inside a chicken coop in central Phuket yesterday.

Frightened Thalang residents called Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers to the scene just after midnight when they found the large python with the half-consumed bird.

“I heard the roosters making very unusual noises. I was afraid to go out alone, so I grabbed my daughter and we went to check the coop,” said Somjit Saejeng, 50.

“We were shocked to find the python, eating one of my husband’s favorite roosters. He is going to be upset when he finds out.”

Officers spent about 15 minutes capturing the reptile, which weighed at least 20 kilograms and was between 2.5 and 3 meters long.

The python was safely transferred to the Khao Phra Thaew Wildlife Sanctuary in Thalang.

The Kusoldharm Foundation can be reached 24 hours a day at 076-246599 or 076-621339. It is recommended that callers be able to speak some Thai.

— Thawit Bilabdullar