Panic Over: 'Escaped' Boa Constrictor Found in Argentina
A massive boa constrictor whose reported escape sparked panic in the Argentine capital and a large mobilization of police and firefighters was found asleep Thursday safe and sound in its owner's closet.
"Margarita the boa was resting well coiled-up inside a closet in its owner's home," said a police spokesman for the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Banfield.
Neighbors were terrified after the owner reported the three-meter (10-foot) snake had gone missing Sunday sometime after he fed it.
"You can tell she ate well because she still seemed to be digesting," the spokesman told AFP.
He said the 30-kilo (65-pound) snake would be taken to a reptile sanctuary in the city of La Plata, just south of Buenos Aires.
The boa constrictor was kept in a glass enclosure in its owner's living room, but was allowed to slither around the house at leisure.
Its owner was summoned for questioning by police after reporting that it had slithered a bit farther than usual at the weekend.
It is illegal in Argentina to keep boa constrictors as pets, according to the Ezeiza Animal Protection Association. Authorities have not said whether the owner will face charges.
In January a similar case petrified residents of another Buenos Aires neighborhood when a 3.5-meter python named Coco escaped. A neighbor found the snake and reported it to authorities, who captured it and took it to a research center.
Source: Agence France Presse
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