GREENWOOD, Mo. (AP) - A 50-pound Burmese python is recovering at a Missouri animal sanctuary after someone attacked it with a box cutter and tried to cut off its head.
The snake is at Monkey Island in Greenwood. Sanctuary operator Dana Savorelli says a friend of the reptile's former owner stabbed the python's face before trying to decapitate it.
A Jackson County veterinarian stitched up the snake's head and neck. KCTV reports that the veterinarian told Savorelli if he didn't take the snake it would have to be euthanized.
Savorelli says he expects the snake to grow to more than 200 pounds. He says a friend is ready to take the snake in, but it still needs time to heal before it will be able to eat again.