Python snake escapes from Tbilisi pet shop before recapture

Residents of a Tbilisi district locality were evacuated on Thursday to Friday night as professionals searched for a python snake that had escaped from a pet shop and safely recaptured it as a result of the search.

The rodent was found in the Gldani-Nadzaladevi district of the capital city, where it had been reported to the Animals Monitoring Agency by an owner of the store that kept the snake.

A summary by the animal agency described the hunt for the escaped python, detailing how its professionals had identified a built-up area as the location where the animal was hiding.

The report said two crews of the city agency had responded to the call and cleared an "enormous area" of furniture and other items, in preparation of recapture, armed only with flashlights.

The snake was eventually retrieved the snake that posed danger to citizens and their pets, the agency said.

The municipal organisation also released figures for reports and discoveries of rodents throughout the summer season, telling local media the trend was similar to the previous year. The agency has captured 252 of the species in the capital in 2020.

In its update the agency also shared tips on safely dealing with snakes to citizens.