A 61-year-old farmer was found dead inside a 28-foot python after being attacked while feeding his livestock in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, on Friday morning, July 5, 2025.
La Noti was tending to his chickens in an orchard in Majapahit Village when the massive reticulated python emerged from tall grass and latched onto his leg. The grandfather, who had no weapon to defend himself, was crushed to death by the constrictor and subsequently swallowed whole by the reptile.
When Noti failed to return home that evening, his concerned family raised an alarm the following morning. They discovered his motorbike abandoned at the edge of the road near the orchard, prompting a large-scale search by local residents throughout the area.
Later that afternoon, villagers made a disturbing discovery when they found a bloated python lying motionless in the undergrowth just several feet away from a garden hut. The snake appeared weighed down by prey in its stomach, raising fears about Noti’s fate.
Suspecting the worst, the community captured the motionless reptile and decided to slice it open. Their fears were confirmed when they found Noti’s fully clothed body lodged inside the beast’s stomach, covered in digestive fluids. The farmer’s 5-foot-4-inch remains were eventually recovered and returned to his family for burial.
Gruesome video footage taken at the scene shows several villagers meticulously cutting open the snake’s midsection to retrieve Noti’s body while his devastated relatives watched. The disturbing footage has since circulated widely across the region and online platforms.
Adjunct Police Commissioner Masud Gunawan, the Batauga police chief, confirmed the incident to local media. Gunawan stated: “The victim said goodbye to his family, saying he was going to feed his livestock but he did not return home.” He added that the family and residents searched and found he had been swallowed by a large python, and that the family accepted the cause of death and prayed for their relative.
Local disaster management officials described the case as unprecedented for the region. La Ode Risawal, head of the local disaster office’s emergency and logistics division, indicated that Noti was seen working in the orchard every day and was well-known in the area. Risawal noted this marked the first time a human had been eaten by a python in this particular area.
However, Risawal warned that such encounters could become more common, explaining that pythons have been appearing more frequently in people’s homes and gardens recently. He stated that authorities have warned residents to be careful when they venture into forest areas alone for work.
Wildlife experts believe the recent surge in python sightings results from disturbances in the snakes’ natural habitat and declining prey populations. La Ode Kaida, head of the Natural Resources Conservation Agency in the province, suggested that habitat disruption and environmental changes are forcing these large reptiles to venture closer to human settlements in search of food.
Indonesia serves as home to some of the largest python species in the world, with reticulated pythons commonly growing over 20 feet in length. The sprawling woodland and rich biodiversity of the Indonesian archipelago provide ideal conditions for these snakes to thrive and reach enormous sizes.
While neighboring countries in Southeast Asia have experienced rapid urbanization that has pushed wildlife into closer proximity with human settlements, Indonesia’s remote areas continue to provide extensive natural habitats for large predators. However, when these massive constrictors are forced to leave their natural environment due to habitat loss or food scarcity, encounters with humans can prove deadly.
This incident represents the second similar case reported in the same region within recent months. In April 2025, a grandmother who had gone missing was also found to have been swallowed whole by a 26-foot python in Southeast Sulawesi, indicating a concerning pattern of human-python conflicts in the area.
Emergency management officials continue to monitor the situation and are working with wildlife conservation agencies to better understand the factors contributing to increased python encounters in residential and agricultural areas throughout the region.
