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Python Spotted Eating Poor Community Cat At S’pore Carpark; Had Its Meal Interrupted

2020-08-31 , 4:50 pm

In addition to cockroaches and spiders, snakes are one of those creatures that instantly makes your whole body go nope.

Unlike what happens when you come across a stray cat, there seems to be a biological instinct that prevents us from getting too close to these creatures.

While they’re not exactly a common sight in Singapore, some residents have spotted these slithering serpents in places you’d least expect, and caught them eating things you’d least expect.

Python Spotted Eating Poor Community Cat At S’pore Carpark; Had Its Meal Interrupted

If your cat is reading this article along with you, please cover its little eyes. What you’re about to see and read might scar it for life.

A python was caught on camera eating a poor community cat at a carpark.

A video of the unpleasant incident was uploaded to the Facebook group Nature Society (Singapore).

You can watch the video here, but viewer discretion is advised (especially for cats and cat lovers).

At the start of the video, a snake at a carpark can be seen coiling around an unidentifiable object. It’s only after the snake straightens that we see it has a poor cat between its unhinged jaws.

The victim is a grey cat who stays motionless the whole time. It’s not known where the incident took place.

When a person off-camera prods at the snake with a stick, presumably in an attempt to get the snake to release the cat’s carcass, the snake drags the cat’s lifeless body away in a swift, smooth motion.

The snake looks a little peeved that it was interrupted while having its meal, but it certainly is sad to see a cat die in such a grisly manner.

Surprisingly, snakes devouring cats in Singapore isn’t as rare as we think.

In fact, a plump and unfortunate ginger cat in Redhill was recently said to be eaten by a python in Redhill.

Pythons Native to Singapore

We may not see them often, but reticulated pythons are actually native to Singapore and are the most common type of snakes found in Singapore, reported The Straits Times.

They often live in drains, and feed on small animals like rats, though they aren’t exactly picky.

Acres explained that in this instance, curiosity may literally have killed the cat. Getting too close to the snake would, of course, make them easy prey.

This incident, while sad, is simply the food chain in motion, says Acres.

“We feel sorry for the loss of the beloved cat. It is unfortunate but these are some of the risks community animals will face in our urban landscape. They are all animals trying to survive”, Acres said.

Dangerous to Humans?

Unlike what you see in movies, pythons are shy and usually avoid human contact, though may turn aggressive if threatened.

But, as I mentioned before, most of us don’t have the instinct to grab a snake when we see one, so we should be safe.

The bigger ones – more than 3m – however, are potentially dangerous to humans, even though they don’t move very fast.

If you see one in nature spaces, it’s best to leave it alone, but if seen within a built environment and if it’s not moving or injured, you’re advised to call the Acres 24-hr wildlife rescue hotline at 9783 7782.

In 2018, a giant python reportedly swallowed a woman whole in Indonesia. After the woman went missing, locals found a snake with a bloated belly and suspected that it had eaten the woman.

When the snake’s belly was cut open, the body of the victim was found inside.

A wild boar charging at me in front of the MRT station doesn’t sound so bad anymore.

Python Spotted Eating Poor Community Cat At S’pore Carpark; Had Its Meal Interrupted

Python Spotted Eating Poor Community Cat At S’pore Carpark; Had Its Meal Interrupted

Pythons Native to Singapore

Dangerous to Humans?

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