Huge Python Enters School, Teacher Catches Snake With Bare Hands

In a brave act, a teacher captured a python with her bare hands after the snake slid into the school building in Central Mamuju, West Sulawesi in Indonesia. Local media shared a photo of the teacher holding the python in her hands.

“It was the first time that I captured a snake. [I did this] because the students became hysterical and couldn’t concentrate on the lessons due to the snake’s presence,” Putu Ayu, the teacher of SMP 5 Tobadakan state junior high school, said Friday.

Local website kompas.com reported that the nearly 7-foot-long snake entered the school while students were inside. The students spotted the large python sliding into the school and became terrified. Ayu approached the python and attempted to capture it with her bare hands.

According to Ayu, the snake fought back as the teacher tried to get hold of the reptile. After she caught the python, some students helped her tie the snake’s mouth shut. The snake was later sent out of the reach of children.

Python sightings are not unusual in Indonesia, and sometimes there have been some deadly incidents involving the snake and humans. Last year, the body of a woman was found inside the belly of a 26-foot python in Muna regency, Southeast Sulawesi. The woman had gone missing and despite several attempts, she was not found. Later, residents found a big python with a swollen belly near a corn plantation. The locals killed the snake and dissected its stomach, in which they found the woman's body.