Reticulated python examination

The California Academy of Sciences in the USA says about this video:

An 18-foot 150-pound female Bali yellow-head reticulated python (Python reticulatus) gets a physical exam by the Academy’s resident veterinarian and team of biologists. These snakes originate in Southeast Asia and feed on birds, lizards and mammals.

Thelma, an 11-year-old reticulated python – the longest species of snake in the world – laid 61 eggs in the summer of 2012. This is despite having had no contact with a male in her four years at Louisville Zoo in Kentucky, USA: here.

Trading in skins of the reticulated python is such a lucrative business that illegal exports are rising sharply and existing trade restrictions are being circumvented on a large scale. This is endangering the stability of populations. Therefore, researchers are developing genetic methods for tracking down individual origins and potential trade routes of the skins: here.

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