Hong Kong hikers were being warned to take care yesterday after a pet husky dog was attacked and killed by a 4.5m Burmese python near a popular walk and family picnic site.
The 22kg dog was ambushed and crushed to death by the snake while it was out walking off lead with its owner last weekend in one of Hong Kong's country parks.
Owner Esther Leenders, 32, kicked the snake and tried to pull it away from her dog Paro but it refused to let go, coiling tighter around the dog for about five minutes until it was dead.
The snake then rounded on Leenders moving towards her, before turning away and slithering into the bushes.
"We had eye contact and I felt very vulnerable. It had no fear and you could see it had no natural predator," Leenders said.
"Paro was not a small dog. He was light on his feet and the size of a small child and I felt the snake could have taken me on if it had wanted to. I am traumatized by what happened. I walk a lot and I am always aware of certain risks and dangers, but I never in my wildest imagination thought I could lose a dog in this way," Leenders said.
Burmese pythons are just one of the species of snake which live in the wilds in Hong Kong countryside which -- contrary to most people's opinion of Hong Kong being a high-rise, densely-populated city -- covers three-quarters of the total area of the territory.
The python can grow to around 6m long and to a weight of 90kg and will often ambush prey by lying in wait at water holes or by hanging from trees.
Usually they feed on small mammals such as birds and cats. However, larger species have been known to make meals out of much bigger prey including dogs, deer and calves -- and even children in other parts of the world.
A spokesman for Hong Kong's Agriculture Fisheries and Food Department said attacks by pythons on dogs were extremely rare and there had never been any attacks on humans.
However, as a precautionary measure warning notices would be put up close to the scene where the dog met its death to alert hikers and picnickers to the presence of the python, the spokesman said.
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