Aug. 20 (UPI) -- A family of animal lovers teamed up with another local resident in South Carolina to wrangle a 12-foot yellow python that had been on the loose in the area for weeks.
Prosperity resident Warren Gallman ventured out with his son, Jordan, and nephew, Jayden Atchison, when a local family reported a sighting of the albino reticulated python that had been on the loose in Newberry County for several weeks.
The trio visited the scene of the sighting, about two miles from Gallman's home, and searched the area with Evan Turner, another nearby resident.
Turner spotted the 12-foot snake after a 15 minute search and Gallman was able to grab the reptile's head.
The amateur reptile wranglers were able to safely capture the snake, with Gallman suffering a few scrapes from being pulled into the bushes by the python.
Local authorities said the snake's origins remain a mystery.
"It is believed this was someone's pet and it was released because this type of snake is not native here," Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster said on social media.
Sean Foley, curator of herpetology at Riverbanks Zoo & Garden, agreed with Foster's assessment.
"A lot of people buy these snakes when they're two or three feet long, and you've got a cage that's four feet long and that's fine for a couple of years, but eventually that snake's gonna get 15 plus feet long, and you need to make sure you can accommodate what that snake needs for its entire life -- and that's a difficult situation," Foley told WOLO-TV.
"Because you don't want to find out you can't take care of it and release that snake. It's terrible for the environment and it's terrible for that snake because it's gonna die and it's not gonna be able to survive," he said.
Gallman, whose son has a pet ball python, said he will care for the snake until a new permanent home can be found.
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