Python found in HCMC school yard

The female python, two m long and weighing five kg, was found at the Duong Van Thi High School in Thu Duc City.

A reticulated python captured at the Duong Van Thi High School in HCMC, September 2022. Photo courtesy of the HCMC Forest Protection Department

School guard Nguyen Trong Nghia spotted the python coiling around a tree branch on Wednesday. It constantly hissed when people got near it. Nghia and his colleagues then caught the snake and put it in a cage.

The Ho Chi Minh City Forest Protection Department on Friday said the python has been transferred to a wildlife rescue center.

Authorities are trying to find out how the python entered the school in the first place.

Reticulated pythons (Python reticulatus) are listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List because of their wide distribution. But in Vietnam, the snakes are classified as an endangered species, and so are forbidden to be hunted, traded and used. They usually live near trees and streams and are most active at night.

In Vietnam, they are distributed in Da Nang and Binh Dinh in the central region and Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak in the Central Highlands.