Python blamed for disappearance of 25 cocks in Udon Thani

A three-metre python was captured after a homeowner in Udon Thani discovered it attacking chickens, solving the mystery of 25 fighting cocks that had disappeared over nearly two weeks.

Rescue workers from the Udon Thani Songserm Tham Foundation were called to a house on Udon Thani–Nong Samrong Road in Ban Bo Nam, Mu Mon subdistrict, on Saturday after the large snake was spotted in a pomelo tree.

The python, estimated to weigh about 20 kilograms, was hanging from the tree with its body draped over a branch. Rescue workers carefully secured its tail and head before bringing it down.

They also found a fighting cock nearby that had been constricted to death. The snake was placed in a sack and was to be released back into the wild.

The 32-year-old homeowner, Wutthiphat, said his fighting cocks had been disappearing two or three at a time for almost two weeks, with about 25 missing in total. He initially suspected cats, rats or thieves.

On the night of the discovery, he heard the chickens squawking and scattering. He went outside with a torch and found the snake’s tail protruding from the pomelo tree, along with the body of a chicken below.

Wutthiphat said he had never encountered a snake of that size at his home and believed it might bring luck. He said he planned to try his house number, 147, in the 1 October lottery draw.

Officials believe the python may have come from nearby overgrown land or construction sites before finding the chicken coop, where it had an ample food source.