BBC (London, UK) 06 September 05 Large python found dumped in wood
A 12ft Burmese Python was found curled up under a tree in a Lancashire wood by a shocked walker.
The RSPCA believes the black and grey snake had been dumped by its owner in the woods off Cobbs Lane, near Oswaldtwistle, Accrington.
Insp Jason Bowles said the cold blooded reptile, who he named Percy, was lucky to survive his brush with the wild.
The RSPCA is searching for the owners of Percy, who is now recovering at a rescue centre in Wales.
Percy was spotted on Sunday and later found by Insp Bowles stretched out and basking in the sun by a stream.
Insp Bowles said: "All too often people take on exotic animals without really knowing how to care for them properly.
"Snakes are cold blooded and cannot regulate their own body temperature, so they need a heated vivarium if they are to survive.
"If the weather hadn't been quite so sunny at the weekend, dumping Percy would have been a death sentence."
Burmese pythons, which live naturally in Asia, can grow up to 20ft long and are known to hunt their prey by water, although usually at night.
The reptiles eat small mammals, birds, reptiles, frogs and fish.
Large python found dumped in wood