_Viewer discretion advised due to graphic content – Residents kill reptile, recover dog’s lifeless body_
Panic broke out in Umar Village, popularly known as One Man Village, near the NNPC Housing Complex, Ekpan, in Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State, after a large python swallowed a dog alive.
A video from the scene, recorded at night, showed the huge reptile — reportedly from the surrounding swamp — with a visibly swollen midsection after swallowing the dog. Residents could be heard shouting in Pidgin: _”One man down, e come find food now, we lego am down.”_
Eyewitnesses said the brown and white local dog had strayed around the area when the python attacked and swallowed it whole.
Villagers who noticed the struggle quickly mobilized and tracked the python, which was said to have tried to regurgitate its prey to attack the crowd. When it discovered the crowd was much larger, it attempted to slither away, but residents overpowered and killed it on the spot.
In the clip, a knife is seen beside the snake as youths cut open the python’s belly. Blood stains littered the concrete floor. Moments later, the lifeless body of the dog was pulled out from inside the reptile.
As of the time of filing this report, the dog could not be revived after spending several minutes inside the snake’s belly.
Residents said sightings of pythons have become frequent in the swampy outskirts of One Man Village, especially during the rainy season, and have called on authorities to help clear the overgrown bushes around the community.
While the community action was out of anger and to save property, Nigeria’s wildlife laws actually protect pythons, it states inter alia:
• *Python is a protected species:* Under the *Endangered Species (Control of International Trade and Traffic) Act, Decree No. 11 of 1985*, all python species in Nigeria are listed in *First Schedule*. The Act says: “The hunting or capture of or trade in animal species listed in the First Schedule to this Act is absolutely prohibited.”
This means you cannot hunt, kill, capture, sell, or possess a python, dead or alive, without exception.
*• Punishment:* Offenders are liable on conviction to a fine, imprisonment, and forfeiture of the animal/skin. The law is being made even stricter under the new *Endangered Species Conservation and Protection Bill, 2025* passed by the Senate, which proposes higher jail terms, seizure of assets, and special powers for wildlife enforcement officers.
*• The only legal defence – Self-defence / Defence of property:*
The *Wild Animals Preservation Laws* of the states and the *National Parks Service Act* provide a defence if:
The animal was killed in genuine self-defence or defence of human life/livestock/property.
The killing is reported immediately to the nearest wildlife officer, police, or local government.
The burden of proof is on the person who killed the animal to show it was necessary. Where the animal is already killed and poses no immediate threat, cutting it open for display can be interpreted as illegal possession of a protected trophy.
For incidents like that of Umar Village, Ekpan; the National Park Service and the Federal Ministry of Environment advise residents to report sightings to wildlife authorities instead of resorting to killing, unless there is an immediate threat to life.