THE INDEPENDENT (Johannesburg, S Africa) 20 February 04 Bathing girl escapes massive python (Bhavna Sookha)
Photo: Great snake: Clairwood residents Zakhios Mhlongo, Bongani Gumede and Gideon Mandlose with the 3.7m python which they caught and killed in the Umhlatuzana River. (Peter Duffy)
A 12-year-old girl got the fright of her life on Friday while bathing in the Umhlatuzana River in Clairwood, KwaZulu-Natal, before going to school.
She spotted a 3.7m python heading straight for her and leapt out of the river and ran, screaming, up the bank.
Zakhios Mhlongo, 53, who lives nearby, heard the girl's screams and ran to the river to investigate.
"It was early in the morning and people use the river to bath. About 6am I heard a little girl screaming and immediately rushed to the river bank because there are snakes in the river," he said.
Mhlongo, who is a sangoma, said he had been living in the area for some time and had never seen such a big snake.
"It was the biggest snake I have ever seen in my life. I and two men who were nearby caught and killed it. We hit it on the head with stones and rocks. The girl was terrified. She could have been killed," he said.
Bongani Gumede, 20, and Gideon Mandlose, 31, were bathing further down the river when they heard the girl's screams.
"We ran towards her voice and when we got there I saw this big snake. I was terrified, but I helped Zakhios and held down the snake," said Gumede.
Mandlose also admitted to being a bit scared, but helped get a hold of the snake.
"We managed to catch it because the water isn't very deep because it hasn't rained in a while," he said.
Zakhios, a family man, said that if no one wanted the snake, he would use its oil for muti and would sell the skin.
He said he had nine children, four of whom bathed in the river before going to school. "The river is now safer with the snake dead."
George Nair, Conservation Partnerships Manager for KZN Wildlife's South Coast Region, condemned the killing of the python, a protected reptile that is not dangerous to man.

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Bathing girl escapes massive python