A 3-METER-LONG python weighing 25 kilograms was discovered in the Luzui Villa in Nan’ao in Dapeng New Area recently. The python was handed over to the city’s wildlife protection department Tuesday along with an owl rescued from a worker earlier.

    A staff member working at the villa found the python on May 6. Pythons are first-class protected wildlife. The staff member reported to the Nan’ao forest patrol team of the area and fed the python, which is thought to be the longest python ever found in Nan’ao Subdistrict.

    Workers from the city’s wildlife protection department and Dapeng Water Affairs Bureau examined the python’s physical condition Tuesday morning. The results suggested that the python was in such a good condition that it could be released.

    The python was later released at a place near the bottom of Qiniang Mountain in Dapeng. According to one of the staff members, the python went into the forest after being released.

    The staff member said there is enough water around the remote area and the python can survive while not posing a threat to tourists and hikers.

    Another wild animal under State protection was rescued by the Nan’ao forest patrol team earlier. Lin Zhiwei, one of the team members, found a chicken-like animal in a cage attached to a migrant worker’s bicycle.

    Lin discovered it was an owl after looking closely. Owls are under second-class State protection.

    The migrant worker told Lin that he found the bird near Xichong beach. The worker assumed the bird fell on the ground when learning how to fly. Lin asked the worker to hand over the owl to the wildlife protection department.

    The worker agreed to hand over the owl to Lin, who sent it to a wildlife protecting center at Nan’ao. The owl was kept and fed for more than a week at the center and was handed over to the city’s wildlife department with the python.

    The owl is too small to be released at this stage, so the department will keep it until it can survive in the wild.

    (Zhang Qian)