A roughly 6.6-foot (two-meter) python was safely captured at a Singapore housing estate after residents spotted it near two apartment blocks and three preschools.
The snake was resting beneath a bicycle frame when residents photographed it.
Here's what to know
The python was spotted on the morning of October 29, according to AsiaOne.
A video a resident posted to a neighborhood Facebook group shows the snake moving past a ground-floor communal space.
Other residents' photographs documented the python beneath a bicycle frame and its capture by authorities. The resident who shared the video said he notified both the National Environment Agency and Animal Concerns Research & Education Society.
"Luckily caught it! There is [a] kindergarten and epic school! Thank God!" one Facebook commenter wrote.
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More background
The area where the snake was found has three preschools.
Nothing appeared unusual to a center employee when she arrived around 6 a.m., while it was still dark. Learning about the snake worried the employee, despite there being no children at the center that day, she told AsiaOne. She had heard noises at around 9 a.m.
The report didn't establish why the python entered the estate.
What's being done?
In the Facebook discussion, the Marsiling-Yew Tee Town Council confirmed the outcome: the animal welfare group went to the site and safely captured the python.
According to National Parks Board guidance, anyone who encounters a snake should stay calm and back away slowly. The board also advises observing the animal from a safe distance. Give the animal space to retreat rather than approaching it for a closer look.
Members of the public can get help by calling 1-800-476-1600, the round-the-clock helpline the Animal Response Centre operates. AsiaOne said it sought further information about the incident from the animal welfare group and the National Parks Board.
"ACRES has attended to the situation and safely captured the snake. We appreciate everyone's concern, and thank you for your understanding!" the town council wrote.
Where can I learn more?
Snakes have turned up near homes, bicycles, and other public spaces in Singapore and elsewhere.
• In India, a schoolboy reached for his bicycle seat to find a spectacled cobra spreading its hood.
• In Singapore, a 2-year-old was bitten near a museum, likely by a python.
• In Singapore's Serangoon Gardens, a black spitting cobra appeared.
• In Japan, police searched a neighborhood after two 2-meter pythons escaped an unlocked apartment cage.
• In India, rescuers pulled a massive python from beneath a parked car's bonnet.
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