PORT SHELDON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WZZM) - Michigan State Police shot and killed what is believed to be a nearly 7-foot long Burmese python after a neighbor reported running over it with his truck.
The large snake was discovered at the intersection of 156th and Polk Street in Port Sheldon Township.
The snake caused quite a spectacle. It was lying in the middle of the road just a few feet away from a park. Tom Moore and Brian Ahlin were the first to notice.
"I thought it was a log. I thought it was a stick in the road," says Moore. Ahlin says, "I had a dog with me. He started barking. I said that's no stick". The men knew there were children in the area, so they took action.
"I must of run over it 10 times and it didn't do anything. It was like running over a rubber tire," says Ahlin. "The thing started attacking the truck, his truck," says Moore. The men decided to call 911.
Trooper Bill Coon was first on scene. "It was lunging and hissing still, so I just decided to shoot the snake."
After it was finally dead, the group got to see just how big the snake was. "It measures 6 foot 10 inches long," says Trooper Coon.
A local pet store says it was likely a Burmese python. The snakes are not native to the United States, but sometimes kept as indoor pets. Winter Estes says, "Well, I think it's cool. I like snakes."
The Burmese Python can grow up to twelve feet. They kill their prey by constriction and asphyxiation. The snake either got loose from someone's home or it was dumped on the side of the road. Since the species likes warmer weather, it probably wouldn't have made it through the winter.
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