A sizable 13-foot python has recently been the talk of the town in Oklahoma City, as locals grapple with concerns over their safety and the well-being of their pets.

The massive snake, said to have been feasting on opossums, foot-long rats, and domestic cats, has sent shockwaves through a mobile home neighborhood in southeast Oklahoma City. Residents, understandably alarmed, have enlisted the help of experts to remove the serpent from their community.

Snake wrangler Trevor Bounds, from Red Beard’s Wildlife Solutions, has been diligently working to locate and safely extract the snake, all while advising residents against attempting any capture efforts themselves.

“We’re talking, that thing has been eating opossums, foot-long rats, and cats,” Bounds cautioned, according to News On 6. “The mouth on that thing is the size of your foot, and when it opens up, you’re going to be able to fit something pretty large in there.”

Experts suggest that this python was likely a pet that either escaped or was intentionally set free.

The potential for harm escalates significantly when these creatures find their way into the wild. “The constricting is what can be the dangerous part,” explained Bounds. “You can’t have small children or pets going near this thing; that’s why this should’ve been tackled a whole lot sooner. Things could have gotten much worse.”

Efforts to locate and capture the python are ongoing, with the primary aim being to safeguard the local pet population and the community at large.

While instances of pythons attacking humans are rare, it’s essential to recognize the potential danger they pose.

Bounds said this particular python is the largest he’s ever been tasked with capturing.

As the community remains on edge, their collective hope is that this massive python will soon be safely removed, allowing residents to return to a sense of normalcy.