Golden python stuns travellers, video breaks the internet with rare sighting

The reticulated python – known locally as Golbahar – is vanishing fast as habitat loss, poaching and trafficking push the species to the brink

A Department of Environment team spotted the Golbahar python on the road near Sita Pahar, by the edge of Kaptai National Park.

Its golden head gleams under artificial light, the body marked with a striking lattice of yellow, black and white. To locals it is “Golbahar” – the “golden beauty” of forests, and one of only two species of python native to Bangladesh.

This week, one of these elusive giants – reticulated python (Malayopython reticulatus) – emerged on the Chattogram-Kaptai road near Sita Pahar, by the edge of Kaptai National Park.

It was in mortal danger, struggling to cross the slippery asphalt as traffic sped by.

A rescue team from the Department of Environment intervened, stopping vehicles and shepherding the eight- to nine-foot snake safely back into the undergrowth.

“Without our help, it could easily have been crushed by a passing car,” said Kazi Iftekhar Uddin, a field officer. A video of the rescue, shared on the department’s Facebook page, has since been watched thousands of times.

WORLD’S LONGEST SNAKE

The reticulated python is the longest snake on Earth, capable of reaching more than 10 metres, longer even than the anaconda. Most specimens range from 23 to 26 feet, though the largest on record was found in Indonesia in 1912, stretching an astonishing 32.8 feet.

Their distinctive diamond patterns shimmer with hues of gold, white, black and red. By day they lie concealed in grass or trees; by night they roam in search of prey. Breeding season runs from February to March.

Although globally listed as of “least concern” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), in Bangladesh the species is considered critically endangered.

FOREST UNDER SIEGE

“Golbahar pythons are found in the forests of Chattogram, the hill tracts, and Sylhet,” said Dipanwita Bhattacharya, a wildlife officer with the Chattogram Wildlife and Nature Conservation Division.

“They usually remain hidden in dense jungle or undergrowth, which is why sightings are rare. The one seen in Kaptai was almost certainly just moving from one part of the forest to another.”

But the threats are mounting. Deforestation, scarcity of prey, hunting and the illegal wildlife trade are rapidly eroding their numbers.

Conservationists warn that without greater awareness and protection, Bangladesh’s most majestic reptile could vanish altogether.

For drivers along forest roads, Bhattacharya added, vigilance is crucial: “These animals only survive if we let them cross safely.”