Animal control officers and police captured eight pythons that were on the loose at a park in Camas, Washington on July 22, 2021. Photo: City of Camas
Authorities rounded up some non-native creatures from a park in Southeastern Washington Thursday (July 22), according to KATU.
Camas Police and animal control officers responded to LaCamas Park at Round Lake to wrangle in eight pythons, city officials tweeted. They were found near the parking area and ranged in size from around three feet to over six feet long, reporters said.
"You’ve heard of other duties as assigned, well maybe not like this!" officials wrote.
Officials suspect someone released the snakes into the area, even though they're not native to the Pacific Northwest. Authorities also searched the rest of the park in case there were more pythons, but they couldn't find any, KATU added.
The snakes were reportedly taken to a local shelter, where they will be re-homed.
City officials also reminded the public not to release their pets into the wild.
This isn't the first time the Pacific Northwest has encountered non-native wildlife recently. Last week, a large fish washed up on the shores of Sunset Beach in Oregon despite the species typically inhabiting tropical waters.