Largest on Record

A huge python found on a construction site in Malaysia could take the record for the longest snake ever to be caught with initial estimates at eight meters.

The reticulated python – a species found in south-east Asia and widely considered as the longest reptile species – was spotted where a flyover was being built in Paya Terubong, a district on the island and tourist haven of Penang.

Herme Herisyam from Malaysia’s civil defence force, the department that caught the snake, told the Guardian that workers from the construction site called the emergency services on Thursday and authorities took 30 minutes to trap the snake.

“It is eight metres in length and weighs about 250kg,” he said by phone.

The Guinness Book of World Records gives the honor of longest snake ever in captivity to Medusa, also a reticulated python, who lives in Missouri, US. She was measured at 7.67 meters in the 2011 edition and still holds the title.

The longest snake - ever (captivity) is Medusa, a reticulated python (python reticulatus), and is owned by Full Moon Productions Inc. in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. When measured on 12 October 2011, she was found to be 7.67 m (25 ft 2 in) long. Medusa also holds the current 'Longest Snake - Living (captivity)' title. 

 

In Kansas City, Missouri, USA, those who look directly at Medusa may not do that – but they certainly come to a stone cold stop.

That’s because the Medusa you find at the city’s Full Moon Productions isn’t some mythological figure of yore. It’s the longest snake ever in captivity.

She is said to weigh 158.8 kg, over 90 kg lighter than the Malaysian specimen.

Medusa, who is kept on show at “The Edge of Hell Haunted House” in Kansas City, could now lose her title. That python’s length would have to be first verified by the Guinness World Records body.

According to Medusa's handler and Edge of Hell's general  manager, Larry Edgar, "We try to keep Medusa well-fed and slightly out of reach as there have been instances  with Reticulated Pythons where they've had to cut people  out of them!  We never underestimate that she does  always have the upper-hand." During the Haunted House season, Medusa enters into  a performance mentality; a state the owners call her "stealth mode," in which the snake remains extremely   still as patrons pass by. She has also been known to "purr" like a cat when  content and "huff" or "hiss" if she's distressed  or annoyed. Medusa prefers that Larry assists with her shedding  and if the python has any spots that prove tough to  shed, she will nudge him for assistance.

Before Medusa took the title, the previous record holder for longest snake in captivity was Fluffy, a 7.3m python who died in 2010 at 18 years old.

Reticulated pythons, who have a grid pattern on their skin that gives them their name, are normally three to six meters long and can be found in water. 

Longer snakes could be living in the wild. In 1912, a python found and shot in Indonesia was reportedly 10 meters long.

Boat Sinking Kills Refugees

Police are searching for survivors after a boat capsized off the coast of Malaysia, killing at least 13 people, officials say.

Police say the bodies of nine women and four men were found washed up on a beach in Johor state early on Tuesday.

Those on board were thought to be illegal migrants or workers from Indonesia, they added.

Thousands of Indonesians work illegally in plantations and other industries in Malaysia.

They often risk dangerous sea journeys to bypass border controls when they enter Malaysia or return home. 

District police chief Rahmat Othman said he believed up to 35 people could have been on board the boat, and a search and rescue operation was under way.

An Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman told Reuters that "ID cards from Indonesia" were found on the bodies of the 13 victims.

Accidents off Malaysia's coast are relatively common as illegal migrants try to find work in the relatively affluent country.

It is also a key transit hub for asylum seekers fleeing unrest in their own countries, such as in Myanmar, also known as Burma.

Malaysia has its origins in the Bangla kingdoms present in the area which, from the 18th century, became subject to the British Empire. 

The first British territories were known as the Straits Settlements, whose establishment was followed by the Malay kingdoms becoming British protectorates. 

The territories on Peninsular Malaysia were first unified as the Malayan Union in 1946. 

Malaya was restructured as the Federation of Malaya in 1948, and achieved independence on 31 August 1957.

Malaya united with North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore on 16 September 1963. Less than two years later in 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation.

The country is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural, which plays a large role in politics. The constitution declares Islam the state religion while allowing freedom of religion for non-Muslims. 

Since its independence, Malaysia has had one of the best economic records in Asia, with its GDP growing at an average of 6.5% per annum for almost 50 years. 

The economy has traditionally been fueled by its natural resources, but is expanding in the sectors of science, tourism, commerce and medical tourism. Today, 

Malaysia has a newly industrialized market economy, ranked third largest in Southeast Asia and 29th largest in the world.