TV star python stolen from Beaumont wildlife park

  BEAUMONT, TX -- At 16 feet long and 140 pounds, this "Banana" clearly isn't a typical fruit.

Instead, the aptly named "Banana," a yellow female albino Burmese python, is missing, the victim of an intruder to Gator Country, a Beaumont wildlife park.

Park co-owner Gary Saurage described his prized animal Monday as "docile as a puppy dog." And despite Banana's fearsome image, he says the snake is the one in danger.

It was obtained four years ago from someone who no longer could care for it. The animal has bluish clear eyes and is valued at $5,000.

Jefferson County sheriff's deputies say the theft occurred sometime between the park's closure the evening of April 22 and its reopening on April 24.

The snake has been featured on CMT television's "Gator 911."

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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12-foot python on the loose at southwest Houston complex

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The residents of a Houston apartment complex came home to an unusual notice from management Thursday evening. It said a giant 12-foot-long python is on the loose.

It escaped from a unit at the Esplanade Apartments, just across the street from Hermann Park. A warning letter was given to residents there. And that's rattling some nerves.

"Definitely freaks me out a little bit. It makes me a little hesitant to go outside," resident Kimberly Stein said. "It's really precarious how it got outside to begin with."

Residents found a flyer on their front door mats. It warns residents of a 12-foot python on the loose and asks anyone who spots the reptile to call animal control.

"I called the maintenance guy this morning and they do believe that the snake escaped from someone's apartment who lives in the second floor; that's why they said. Somebody saw it in the second-floor garage area, but they don't know where in the building it is," resident Wendy Hiester said.

Now some are wondering if it's lurking the garage or if it's camouflaging itself in the lush landscaping.

Everyone there seems to have their own sense of the python, and for some, sleeping tonight won't be easy.

"I'm worried can it get into the apartment somehow, so I think we'll be talking about it when we go to sleep tonight," nearby resident Chase Culver.

A lot of people in the apartment complex are aware of the situation.

We called the number on the flyer but it was an answering service that picked up. They said they'll try to get more information and get back to us.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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