Cincinnati family finds 14-foot python in backyard

[August 18, 2011]  CINCINNATI (AP) -- A Cincinnati family suspected a snake was nearby when their dogs found large amounts of shed snakeskin in their backyard. But they didn't expect it to be a 14-foot, 120-pound reticulated python.

Nathaniel Allbright and his father, Alfred, tell The Cincinnati Enquirer (http://bit.ly/rtmhyt) one of their dogs found the snake Wednesday under a tarp.

Nathaniel Allbright says he fashioned a noose out of pipe and rope to transfer the snake into a trash can.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals now has the snake and says it's not clear how the python entered the yard.

Reticulated pythons are named for the cross-hatching patterns on their skin. The largest recorded one was 32 feet, 9 1/2 inches long when it was killed in 1912 in Indonesia.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.