Acrobatic python escapes, moves in with neighbors

Police gather around a two-meter long python they were called to remove after it escaped its owner and crawled down to a neighbor's balcony in Ningbo, Zhejiang province on November 17. Photo: Modern Gold Express

A man surnamed Yang and his wife called police to help remove a two-meter long python curled on their seventh-story balcony in Ningbo, Zhejiang province on November 17.

Local police captured the 7-kilogram reptile and transported it back to the station, where an acrobat surnamed Wang arrived later to claim the pet.

Wang, who lived directly above the couple, had kept his pet python on his own balcony until it decided to slither down below. A performer with a local acrobatic troupe, Wang explained the python was part of his act and not poisonous.

He explained that he kept the snake in a glass-topped box in the sun to prevent it from hibernating during the winter months.

After verifying his pet license, authorities returned the python to Wang with a stern warning.