A family out for a hike in the Chilliwack back country was surprised to come across a six-foot Burmese python slithering in the wilderness.
The illegal albino snake was apparently dumped there by the owner to avoid getting into trouble for owning it.
SPCA officers brought it in to veterinarian Adrian Walton’s Maple Ridge clinic, where the 15-pound reptile is now being treated.
Walton said the snake is harmless to humans, and he’s hoping authorities can find it a new home.
‘They are the Great Danes of the snake world,” Walton told CTV News.
He said the snake is emaciated, very dehydrated and covered in snake mites. Walton believes the animal would have died if it made it to the colder winter months.
B.C. Wildlife Act rules introduced four years ago prohibit the ownership of this type of reptile, unless the animal was in the province before 2009.
Penalties include a fine of up to $250,000, two years imprisonment or seizure of the animal and transport to an accredited zoo. If removal isn’t possible the animal could be euthanized.
Wild Burmese pythons in the wild can grow up to six-metres long and weigh in at a gargantuan 70 kilograms.
