Authorities in Indonesia say a 63-year-old farmer who had disappeared was later found dead in the stomach of an eight-meter-long python.
The disappearance came to light in Majapahit Village, Southeast Sulawesi, when neighbors noticed he had not returned home from his plantation.
The discovery was confirmed by local officials in remarks carried by ANTARA News.
The search ended when residents came across an enormous snake near his hut. After killing it, they found the missing man, identified as LN, inside.
What happened?
LN, who lived in Batauga Subdistrict in South Buton, was reported missing on Friday after he did not come back from work.
Alarm grew when neighbors who expected to meet him began asking where he was, and his family said he still had not returned from the plantation.
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ANTARA reported that his motorbike remained parked by the roadside.
As residents searched the plantation and checked around the hut, they found a giant python about a thousand feet away.
Officials said the snake looked unusually swollen and appeared to be struggling, prompting villagers to suspect it had swallowed something large. They then killed the python and cut it open, finding LN's body inside.
Emergency officials later helped take his body back to his home.
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Laode Risawal, a local disaster agency official, told ANTARA that the area had not previously recorded a resident being swallowed by a python.
What does it mean?
According to Risawal, snakes had been appearing often in the village in recent months, especially during the rainy season, to hunt livestock.
In farming areas, plantations, roads, homes, and livestock can create edge habitat where humans and predators overlap.
When wild prey becomes harder to find — or when rodents and domestic animals gather near farms and houses — large snakes may be drawn closer to the places where people live and work.
Changes in land use and weather patterns can reshape animal behavior in ways that affect rural families, especially those who spend long hours alone in fields or plantations.
What are people saying?
"The victim, a farmer, was found by residents who discovered LN had been swallowed by a snake," Risawal stated.
He also said, "When the snake's stomach was cut open, it was indeed the victim who had been swallowed. Residents had initially been suspicious due to the snake's appearance."
Sertu Dirman, the village supervisory non-commissioned officer, added: "The family subsequently went to check the plantation and found the victim's motorbike still parked on the side of the road."
He said, "At that point, residents grew suspicious because the snake appeared to have swallowed a person. They then killed the snake, and it turned out the victim was inside its stomach."
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