Reticulated Python
Malayopython reticulatus
Description
The Reticulated Python is the world's longest snake, with confirmed lengths exceeding 6.25 meters. Found in Northeast India and the Nicobar Islands, this magnificent constrictor has a complex geometric pattern of diamond shapes in brown, olive, and cream — "reticulated" refers to this net-like pattern.
This powerful non-venomous constrictor feeds on mammals, birds, and other reptiles. Large specimens can take prey as large as deer and wild pigs. Like all pythons, it kills by constriction, wrapping its muscular coils around prey and squeezing.
Reticulated Pythons are excellent swimmers and have colonized many remote islands. They are generally shy and avoid humans. In India, they are found in tropical forests of the Northeast and the Nicobar Islands. They are protected under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act.