Python swallows blue bull calf in Fatehpur village

KANPUR: An 18-foot-long Indian python swallowed a newborn `nilgai, also known as a blue bull, in Katoghan village in Khaga tehsil in Fatehpur district on Sunday.
Scores of villagers gathered after they spotted a huge sized python with a bloated belly trying to devour the newborn of a blue bull.
Few among them alerted the forest department for help. They could not believe their eyes when they suddenly found the python swallowing the baby blue bull.
The villagers meanwhile shot the video of trapping of blue bull calf by the python and later made it viral on the social media.
However, before the forest team could arrive at the spot, the python had sneaked into the nearby forest cover.
According to forest officer Sachchidanand, it's a Rock Python. "The 1.28-minute video shows the snake slowly putting the whole blue-bull calf in its mouth. One can see in the video, the python swallowing the calf slowly in its extremely large mouth”, he said.
"We have come across videos of snakes swallowing rabbit or mice, but this video of the python engulfing the blue-bull calf is quite rare. The clip shivers down my spine," said Gopal, a local of Kathoghan village.
Another senior forest department official, meanwhile, said: "The area is a home to flora and fauna both. The python will be captured and released into the forest cover if villagers lodge a complaint in this regard."
The Indian python is classified as lower risk near threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This listing indicates that it may become threatened with extinction and is in need of frequent reassessment. It can grow to a length of about 20 feet.