Blackwater python: Snake catcher says police appeal python found dead

Zoltan Pohner said he had been keeping the surviving reptile safe and warm in his home

A man who claims he captured a live python in a park following a police appeal has said he found a second snake dead in a nearby tree.

Snake enthusiast Zoltan Pohner, from Bournemouth, travelled to Blackwater in Hampshire last week to hunt for a carpet python reportedly on the loose.

Mr Pohner previously said he captured a snake and took it home, but it was not the one police were looking for.

But he said the dead snake has markings that match the police photo.

Hampshire Constabulary reported sightings of a carpet python in Blackwater earlier this month.

Mr Pohner said he spent three days looking for the reptile before locating a 1.8m-long (6ft) snake.

However, after inspecting the police photo more closely, he concluded there must be a second carpet python on the loose.

Police tweeted this photo of a python seen in Oakfield Road, Blackwater, on 7 April

Mr Pohner said the markings on the dead snake "100% matched" the one tweeted by police

He believes the dead snake, which he found on Wednesday night, was the male partner of the snake he rescued last week.

It was 220cm-long (7ft) and its markings "100% matched" the pattern on the photo tweeted by police, he said.

Carpet snakes, which are native to Australia, are not venomous and can be kept as pets.

Mr Pohner said he believed the snakes might have been dumped as a pair by somebody who had been unable to afford the cost of keeping them in a heated tank.

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