MELBOURNE, Fla. — Something hiding in a Brevard County canal is making homeowners very uneasy. A large python was last seen slipping into the water this week. It's unknown if it was an abandoned pet, but no one's been able to find it.
Somewhere lurking underneath the water in the Kingsmill subdivision of Melbourne is something many residents would rather not see again, a large python.
"I'm very concerned about something like that. It's hard to imagine something could happen here and a snake that size gets loose," resident Barbara Muchow said.
SLIDESHOW: Images Of Canal Python Escaped Into
The snake, which some say was 10 feet long, was seen slithering into a canal near Kings Mills Avenue and Lake Washington Road (see map) earlier this week, not far from where Muchow was feeding fish Tuesday morning.
"I was putting bread in trying to feed the fish, but nothing came up. It's a good thing," she said.
Experts say the snake might have been trying to escape the cold air. Trappers came out looking for the serpent, but determined it probably won't come back out until the air warms up.
That's no comfort to people who live nearby who are wondering where it came from in the first place.
"It had to be owned by somebody and somebody should have been more responsible," Muchow said.
Pythons have been a growing problem in south Florida, where they are surviving and thriving. But experts say a python in Central Florida would have a hard time surviving in the wild in the current cold snap.
The giant snakes generally will die if repeatedly exposed to temperatures less than 40 degrees for prolonged periods. Even in warmer water, the snakes have to come up to breathe and couldn't handle inhaling freezing air.
One expert told eyewitness news residents in the neighborhood are more likely to find the snake floating in the water dead than alive.
Authorities suspect as many as 150,000 pythons may be living in the wild in the Everglades. In July, a 9-foot long pet python was blamed for killing 2-year-old Shaiunna Hare in her crib in Sumter County.
Previous Stories: November 18, 2009: Woman Finds 7-Foot Python While Gardening November 8, 2009: Big Snake Pried Off Car Engine By 2 Men November 4, 2009: Python Hunting Program Expires October 29, 2009: Python Hunt Doesn't Go As Well As Planned October 15, 2009: 7-Foot Python Found Slithering Around Neighborhood October 13, 2009: Couple In Python Toddler Death Plead Not Guilty
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