A Dallas man’s 16-foot albino reticulated python, one of the largest species of snakes in the world, was finally captured last week after spending months slithering around an Austin neighborhood.
Although there are over 105 species of snakes in Texas, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, this particular snake was clearly not a native species and garnered quite a bit of attention.
Multiple sightings of the distinctive yellow and white snake throughout the Coronado Hills community of northeast Austin had been reported since July.
Then, on December 19, the Austin Animal Center received a phone call from a local resident who claimed he had caught a “huge, pink-eyed snake” that he had penned up in his garage.
“When Officer Moorman arrived at the residence, he was indeed greeted by an unhappy 16-ft. long albino reticulated python,” the Center posted on Facebook. The Center commented that the recent colder weather had made the snake sluggish and easy to catch.
The snake was transported to the Austin Animal Center, where several of the shelter workers recalled seeing a social media posting several months earlier about a missing python snake. The employees did some detective work and located the posting on the Nextdoor social media app.
The shelter employees contacted the owner, Daryl Fields, who lives in Dallas. He was able to confirm a unique feature of the snake and identified it as his pet, Snow. He drove to Austin the next day to be reunited with his beloved “gentle giant,” who he thought had been lost forever.
Fields, who collects exotic snakes, explained that he had been visiting his brother’s home in Austin last summer when someone smashed the window of his van, broke in, and stole a tote bag that contained the snake.
Fields said he looked around the area and found the container flipped over, but could not locate Snow.
Staff at the Austin Animal Center speculated that the thief was likely unaware of the contents of the tote when he stole it.
“Oh, to see the look on the thief’s face when they opened it up,” the Center mused on its Facebook page.
Fields told KXAN News that having Snow returned to him was “like the best Christmas present ever.” Snow reportedly had no comment.