Part 1 of 2
It began like an ordinary day in Freehold, New Jersey.
Leslie Daley was outside near the family’s backyard shed when something moving caught her attention.
At first, it was difficult to understand what she was seeing.
Then the thick, patterned body became unmistakable.
A huge snake was moving near the shed.
And it was unlike anything the family expected to find in a New Jersey backyard.
The reptile was later identified as a Burmese python measuring roughly eight feet long.
Even more startling was the enormous bulge in the middle of its body.
Whatever the snake had eaten, it had been large.
The python eventually disappeared beneath the floor of the shed, making the situation even more complicated.
The Daleys contacted the Monmouth County SPCA.
When animal control officers saw what they were dealing with, they quickly realized this would not be a simple capture.
The python had wedged itself beneath the structure.
Its swollen midsection made pulling it back through the narrow opening difficult and potentially dangerous for the animal.
A local contractor was brought in to help.
Floorboards had to be removed so rescuers could reach the snake safely.
Even after the boards came up, the python still had to be carefully worked free.
Animal control officers gently unwound its powerful body while trying to avoid injuring the snake or themselves.
The size alone was intimidating.
After its recent meal, the python weighed about 40 pounds.
Eventually, rescuers managed to lift it completely out from beneath the shed.
Only then could everyone get a clear look at just how large the bulge really was.
The python was transported to the Monmouth County SPCA, where veterinary staff examined it.
There were immediate questions.
Was the swelling caused by illness?
Had the snake swallowed something dangerous?
And how had a Burmese python ended up beneath a backyard shed in New Jersey in the first place?
Veterinary staff decided to take an X-ray.
The image finally revealed what had been hidden inside the snake.
And when rescuers saw the outline of the animal inside the python’s stomach, the mystery of its swollen belly was over.