11-Foot Python Unexpected Guest For Perris FamilyLAKE ELSINORE (AP) ― Click to enlarge1 of 1
Francisco Delgadillo, who lives near Lake Elsinore, says he was chatting with his sister on their porch Sunday night when he saw an enormous snake moving across the fenced yard.
The apparent owner of an 11-foot-long, 50-pound Burmese python captured by Riverside County animal control officers has come forward, a spokesman said today.
John Welsh of the Department of Animal Services said a long-distance trucker contacted authorities, saying the snake is likely his pet, "Fran Swallow," which he left in his brother's care while he went on the road.
According to Welsh, the trucker's residence is adjacent to the home where the python was spotted Sunday night.
The snake likely got out of its holding case and slithered up to a second-story window, punching through a screen "to perform his ... escape," Welsh said.
"If all this pans out -- and the holding case is secure -- we will be transporting Fran Swallow to the residence early Wednesday," he said.
Francisco Delgadillo, 43, who lives in the neighborhood off of Highway 74 near Lake Elsinore where the snake turned up, was talking with his sister around 8:20 p.m. Sunday when they saw the reptile making its way across his front yard.
"I was thinking, `Oh my God, that's a huge snake,"' Delgadillo said. "Our whole yard is fenced, so I'm not sure how it got into my property. Maybe it came down from one of the trees."
He called 911, and animal control officers Christina Avila and Dylan Gates responded.
According to Welsh, it took the combined strength of both officers to heave the python into the animal control truck. It's now in a holding pen at the Riverside animal shelter.
The snake is native to Southeast Asia and legal to own in California, according to the Department of Animal Services.
