An 8-foot-long snake — possibly a python or a boa constrictor — was rounded up in a park west of the Twin Cities and is awaiting either its owner to step forward or a new place to call home.
The McLeod County Sheriff's Office said it corralled the coiled creature Saturday in Buffalo Creek Park, a few miles east of Glencoe.
"If you are missing one, please contact us," the Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook posting accompanied by one photo of the snake in the grass and another in a cage. That number is 1-320-864-3134.
The snake is now at an animal shelter and will be eligible for adoption in five days, unless the owner owns up to having lost the low-lying escapee.
Its markings and size are similar to either a python or boa constrictor. The Sheriff's Office in its posting was careful not to identify the snake by a specific breed.
Pythons are nonvenomous and native to tropical and subtropical Asia, Africa and Australia. However, some people in the United States and other nonnative locales around the globe keep them as pets. They feed on large animals first by asphyxiating them by constriction and then swallowing them whole.
Boas, commonly found in the Caribbean, Central America and South America, are somewhat smaller than pythons and kill for their food in much the same way. As with pythons, they are nonpoisonous.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
