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28 March 2024

College student kills 18-foot long python

University of Florida scientists examined the snake and found that it was 128 pounds and female, not carrying eggs at the time. The previous record length for a Burmese python captured in the wild in Florida was 17 feet, 7 inches. This Burmese python is now documented to have set a record as the longest Burmese python captured in Florida. (REUTERS)

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By Agencies

An 18-foot, 8-inch Burmese python set a record for the longest snake ever captured in South Florida, where the exotic species has taken up residence.

College student Jason Leon snared the female python in a rural area southeast of Miami earlier this month, when he saw part of it sticking out from brush along the roadside, said Carli Segelson, a spokeswoman for the state's Fish and Wildlife Commission.

The python broke the previous record set in 2012 by a 17-foot, 7-inch snake caught by researchers studying the impact of the growing population of pythons on the Everglades National Park.

With the help of his friends, Leon wrestled and killed the snake with a knife, Segelson said.

He then reported the find through Florida's "IveGot1" program, which connects callers to wildlife researchers.

The Burmese python is an invasive species in Florida. Native to the region from India to lower China, the species has been documented to grow as long as 26 feet and weigh 200 pounds.

Florida sponsored a python hunting competition in January to see whether annual hunts might put a dent in the local population, and to provide specimens for further research.

Theories on how the snakes got into the Everglades include dumping by pet owners and the destruction of a nearby exotic pet dealership during the 1992 Hurricane Andrew.

Bolt, the pigeon, worth a fortune 310,000 euros

Like his human counterpart, "Bolt" the racing pigeon is a record setter in every sense, fetching 310,000 euros from a Chinese buyer impressed by his winning pedigree, Belgian reports said Tuesday.

Named after six-times Olympic champion, Jamaican Usain Bolt, the pigeon was put up for auction on the Belgian specialist site pipa.be -- which comes in several language versions, including Japanese and Chinese, reflecting the sport's global appeal.

"Bolt is a super pigeon," owner Leo Heremans was quoted as saying, with a string of race victories to his name.

Reports said Heremans, a well known pigeon fancier and breeder, sold virtually his whole stock of 530 birds which were described as "killers" who stand out for their ability to "dominate and outclass opponents."

The sale brought Heremans some four million euros in all, the reports added.

RTBF TV station cited another pigeon specialist, Nikolaas Gijselbrecht, as saying that "Belgian pigeons are known the world over -- just like Belgian beer and chocolate!"

PIPA, the abbreviation for "Pigeons from Paradise", was founded in 2000 to promote the sport which attracts a huge following, with breeders as selective and fussy over their bloodlines as the most exclusive race horse owner.

Russian officer 'posed at Putin's desk to impress girls'

Russia's federal guard service launched an investigation after photos appeared in the media of a disgraced former employee posing behind Vladimir Putin's desk in the Kremlin, an official said Tuesday.

Pictures of the man, named Alexei Ustimchuk, sitting diminutively behind the giant desk in Putin's Kremlin office, spread through the internet as people ridiculed the lack of security that permitted a simple employee such access.

Published first by tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets, the photos show the young man in a wood-paneled room with two armchairs and a Russian flag, looking identical to one where Putin works in the Kremlin and where he held a meeting with Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin early this month.

"We are checking whether these pictures are authentic or not," a spokesman for the federal guard service (FSO) Sergei Devyatov told AFP Tuesday.

The FSO, Moscow's version of the American secret service, is responsible for ensuring the personal security of Putin and Russia's other top leaders.

Moskovsky Komsomolets did not explain where it obtained the pictures, but said that Ustimchuk, who was an officer in the FSO's communications department between 2004 and 2011, posted the pictures on dating sites to "impress the ladies".

"What girl wouldn't want a captain with direct access to the president's study?" Moskovsky Komsomolets said.

"Turns out that any scoundrel can march into the office of the head of state and have a photo session," the paper said, though it was not clear what year the photo was snapped.

Ustimchuk is currently behind bars after being convicted over the high-profile kidnapping of the son of Russian businessman Yevgeny Kaspersky last year.

A military tribunal sentenced him to 4.5 years in a prison colony on charges of kidnapping and extortion. His associates are still on trial in Moscow.