Elusive Ball Python Captured In Beavertail State Park Months After 1st Sighting

JAMESTOWN, RI — A ball python was captured in Beavertail State Park months after it was first sighted, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management said.

The rescued reptile was taken to Beavertail Aquarium, the department said in a post on its Facebook page.

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"Calm, friendly, and clearly used to people, this 3-foot-long python — a harmless species native to Africa — was clearly someone’s pet," the post said.

A park visitor first spotted the snake in July, according to the post.

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"This ball python’s ideal home is definitely not Beavertail State Park in Jamestown, but that’s where this one showed up!" the post said. "After months of searching since its first sighting by a park visitor in July, DEM staff finally spotted the snake last week, happily sunning itself after the recent Nor’easter."

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DEM stressed that releasing a pet into the wild is both dangerous and illegal

"Abandonment leading to an animal’s death is a felony," the post said.

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"While this story has a happy ending, it could have gone much worse," DEM said. "It was miraculous for a snake from sub-Saharan Africa to survive Rhode Island’s fall weather!"

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