A loving new home is being sought for a "social and friendly" reptile that caused a bit of a scare in Co Leitrim this summer.
After escaping its home, the Royal Python, which has been named Penelope, was spotted by a startled member of the public who was walking near Leitrim’s Kinlough Park.
In the week that followed, she was spotted several times in the park before she was caught in mid-July.
When she was secured, Penelope was identified as a Royal Python, approximately three-years-old and one metre in length.
According to The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA), she was "in relatively good condition, but slightly hungry" and is described as a "social and friendly snake".
After spending the last few months at a reptile centre in Letterkenny, Co Donegal, the ISPCA is now trying to find her a new home with an owner who has "specialist knowledge and skills to provide proper care for her, for the rest of her life.
It remains unclear how the snake came to be in the park and as no-one has come forward with information regarding Penelope’s origin, the decision has now been taken to rehome her.
Kevin McGinley, ISPCA Senior Inspector, said: "It is important that this python goes to an experienced reptile keeper. We rescued a few snakes that were on the loose this summer, and would like to remind the public that these reptiles make great escape artists. Please make sure their enclosures are secure, and please don’t deliberately release them.”
Anyone interested in adopting Penelope can contact ISPCA Donegal Animal Rehabilitation Centre on 00353 074 91 52360 or by email at donegal@ispca.ie
