Reports of 40-foot python scare Maguindanao farmers

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines – Alleged sightings of a python no less than 40 feet long with a body larger than a coconut tree has caused panic among farmers in peasant enclaves in Barangay Kauran in Ampatuan, Maguindanao.

A farmer’s wife named Inday Conilas on Monday told the Brigada News station in Cotabato City that she nearly fainted seeing the snake cross a shallow river in Sitio Sinawang, a secluded farming area in Barangay Kauran.

The “giant snake,” according to Conilas, resembled a python, having seen live ones caught by farmers in their farms.

Barangay officials told The Star they will have to investigate first on the allegation of Conilas, before they can issue any statement.

Community elders and traditional leaders in Barangay Kauran said there were other villagers who had earlier reported having seen a giant snake slithering in their corn farms.

Barangay Kauran is near marshes and swamps that connect to the 220,000-hectare Liguasan Delta, which teems with endemic reptile and fish species that grow to huge sizes due to the abundance of smaller fishes and aquatic insects they feed on.

Local officials have urged farmers to work in groups, meantime, and refrain from exaggerating on the alleged presence of a giant snake on Sitio Sinawang, while validation efforts are still underway.