The Deputy Director of the Dehiwala National Zoological Gardens, Hemantha Samarasekara, stated that a complaint was filed with the Dehiwala Police regarding the disappearance of an anaconda.

The Deputy Director noted that the juvenile anaconda, which was kept in a glass-enclosed cage in the reptile garden of the zoo, went missing last Sunday (07).

The police and a team of the zoo staff began investigations to find the anaconda.

Hemantha Samarasekara stated it cannot be definitively said whether the juvenile, known as a Yellow Anaconda, was stolen by someone or exited through a small hole in the glass cage.

The Anaconda disappeared while zoo authorities kept it under quarantine within the reptile garden.

Reports indicate that the missing juvenile was the only Yellow Anaconda in the Dehiwala Zoo and in Sri Lanka.

The Deputy Director pointed out that the anaconda belongs to a non-venomous python species, so it poses no harm to anyone.

When it went missing, the anaconda measured about one and a half feet long but can grow to a length of about 12 feet, the Deputy Director stated.

He added that the anaconda snake species is the heaviest in the world and is native to South America.