12 ft python in bloody encounter with civet cats at Chuk Kok Village

At about 10:00 pm last night (30 April), a female Burmese python, about 4 to 5 years old, and about 12 feet long and weighing 100 pounds, was moving through the hillside forest above Chuk Kok Village. Some civet cats, who had just emerged for food, and only about 40 inches in length, were soon seen as prey by the snake.

The civet cats were caught unawares and the python struck before they knew it. Snake and cats fought each other making some noise. The cats tried to make their escape, running off up the hillside above the village, but one was caught by the snake, who proceeded to wrap its coils around the animal. The villagers were alerted by the noise and called the police. When the police received the report they called a snake catcher. He trapped the snake, but not before one of the cats was seriously wounded and died. The police sent the snake to Kadoorie Farm for follow-up.

According to information from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, civet cats and Burmese pythons are both protected under Chapter 170 of the Wildlife Conservation Act and cannot be hunted; the latter is also a nationally protected animal at the country level. Although the two are not rare in Hong Kong, they are only met by accident.