An African python has been left in a cramped and rusty cage in an abandoned villa in Abu Dhabi's Karama Area, Gulf News has discovered.
The two-to-three metre long reptile, most likely an African Rock Python, was left in a 1.5 by 1.5 metre cage, affording it little room to move around. The abandoned villa where the animal was left is full of garbage. The python weighs 60 to 80 kilograms.
The trade of the python is banned since it is listed as vulnerable in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Flauna (Cites).
A Gulf News team found the python had squeezed into a small bucket of water to cool itself from the heat.
According to an expatriate worker from a nearby construction site, the villa has been abandoned for a long time. An employee of the villa owner, however, visits the animal to feed it and pour water in the bucket.
The bucket is less than half a metre in radius, which means the large reptile is forced to struggle to fit in.The cage is also not fit for the animal. It is similar to a bird cage, and is built on a wooden platform and is covered by metallic mesh. It is also filthy.
Shed skin from the python can be seen inside and around the cage, indicating the animal has been in the abandoned villa for a long time.The cage is kept inside the compound surrounded by garbage. The Gulf News team found the reptile to be aggressive.
"The living condition is not suitable for the python," said Dr Jonathan Hale, a vet at the British Veterinary Centre here. "It needs a proper and more spacious place to live. Since it appears to have been abandoned, I hope the owner will give it up for the Al Ain Zoo or another concerned organisations because it deserves better living conditions."
Hale said he will try to find the owner and convince him to give the animal to an organisation that can better care for it. The snake could also be of benefit to students of zoology as well as to experts if it is kept in a zoo.
"They are not really suitable as pets as they grow throughout their lives - within time, they will outgrow all but the largest enclosures. I would like to see this snake housed in a more suitable environment that will give it a healthier and happier life and it would be great if this could be somewhere like a zoo, where the public could get to see this very large and special creature," he said.
The huge snake poses a threat to neighbourhood residents, particularly children, as well as to domestic animals.
A native of African grasslands
The Africa Rock Python (Python sebae) comes from the savannah regions (grasslands) of Africa. It can grow to more than 20 feet or six metres and is Africa's largest snake.
They are carnivorous animals living in the wild on animals, like monkeys and small antelope.
The snakes capture their food by lying in wait along the veld trails. They kill by coiling their powerful bodies around the prey and constricting the chest of the captured animal.
Pythons are beautiful to look at but are becoming rare in the wild. This is because they are hunted by man for traditional medicines, food and for the beautiful skin which is used for luxury goods.
Python trade is banned as the species is listed as vulnerable.
Gulf News
