15-Foot Python That Terrified Missouri Neighborhood Finally Killed

A small Missouri neighborhood’s 15-foot nightmare is finally over.

A nearly 15-foot, 160-pound Burmese python that had been spotted near Jonesburg, Missouri for several days was killed on Tuesday morning in Warren County.

According to KTVI, Pauline Horstdaniel woke up to the sound of her St. Bernard-lab mix barking in the early hours of Tuesday morning and saw the snake outside her house. She called her father-in-law, who came over to the house and killed the snake with a shotgun.

The snake had been spotted in the town for “several days” prior, according to the Associated Press. The neighbors believe the snake was responsible for the disappearance of several animals in the neighborhood.

KTVI reported that three chickens vanished, with no trace of bones or feathers, as typically happens when a coyote or owl kills them. Two dogs also went missing, but the owner didn’t believe the snake was responsible.

As a result, parents kept their children close, and the neighborhood had been extra cautious while it was on the loose.

Burmese pythons aren’t native to Missouri, but a conservation official told the AP that owners are known to dump them in the wild when they get too big.

Burmese pythons hunt by suffocating their prey via constriction and then eat them whole.

Main image via Wikimedia commons