A giant python that attacked an Indonesian man who tried to catch it was later eaten by locals.
A police investigation has revealed more details about the horrific encounter after initially claiming the man single-handedly wrestled the seven-metre-long snake to death in Indragiri Hulu regency in Indonesia’s Riau province.
Security guard Robert Nababan, 37, said he was riding his moped home from work when he came across the huge snake blocking two pedestrians from crossing the road.
Mr Nababan said: “I tried to catch it but it bit my arm and we wrestled for a while.” His family then barred journalists from asking further questions, saying he needed to rest because of his significant arm injury.
The giant python was seven meters long. Source: AsiaWire/ Facebook
The 37-year-old was taken to hospital with a serious injury to his arm. Source: AsiaWire/ Facebook
But police have now investigated the incident and said Mr Rababan did not kill the snake alone.
Sutarja said Mr Rababan noticed the snake was “doing its own thing” and called some friends to try to catch it. The security guard was tasked with fixing the snake’s head.
“When Robert tried to cover the snake’s head with a sack, the snake retaliated,” Sutarja told Jakarta news website Coconuts.
“The snake bit him in the arm.”
He said the 37-year-old tried to free himself from the snake’s mouth, but the snake “increased its bite” before finally releasing him.
Mr Rababan was then taken to hospital while others stayed behind to kill the python.
Sutarja said one of the people helping the 37-year-old hit the snake with a tree trunk and he was convinced Mr Rababan would have been killed if other people had not been with him.
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He is reportedly still recovering in hospital from cuts to his arm.
Hungry villagers later ate the 7-meter-long snake after she attacked local security officer Robert Nababan.
“The python was 7.8 metres long (25.6 feet), it was incredibly big,” local police chief Sutarja told AFP.
Sutarja said the snake was diced, fried and eaten after it was killed. He added that the 37-year-old, who sometimes likes to eat snakes, tried to catch the giant python and stuff it in a gunny sack.
Giant pythons, which regularly reach a length of over 6 meters, are commonly found in Indonesia and the Philippines.
In March, a 25-year-old Indonesian farmer was discovered in the belly of a giant python after the swollen snake was caught near where the man disappeared while harvesting his crops on the eastern island of Sulawesi.
