By Wilberforce Netya

POKOT, KENYA: A nine feet long python snake was on Friday speared to death at Kongelai area in West Pokot County by bitter residents following fears that it could have swallowed a goat.

The villagers used poisoned arrows to kill the snake making it difficult for game rangers and police officers to handle.

A game ranger from Kapenguria Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Station, Daniel Cheboi said the office received a call regarding the incident from area OCS at around 10 am informing them that a huge snake had swallowed a goat.

“The place was not accessible by use of our four wheel drive car and we had to hire a motor bike that took us over 10 kilometers further to find a big crowd that stood waiting for us,” Cheboi said.

He said the frightful residents were standing far from the place where the snake lay but the team of rangers walked through the mixed shrub and forested area at the banks of the Suam River on the way to Kacheliba.

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Mr. Cheboi disclosed that the rangers found the nine feet long snake already dead with its head chopped off by the residents.

Ironically, he noted, the snake had vomited a big hyena equivalent to the size of a medium sized goat contrary to the expectations of the residents who thought it had swallowed a goat.

Cheboi said the rangers, who were trained in snake handling, were sad about the incident since it was an ecosystem cycle yet the residents had killed the reptile.

The dead python was then ferried to the KWS regional headquarters in Kapenguria for its skin to be extracted and forwarded to the headquarters in Nairobi.

Cheboi advised communities to be cautious when dealing with wildlife since they were dangerous in not handled in a suitable manner and to report to the KWS rather than conflict with them.