A tour guide in Borneo, Indonesia, narrowly escaped serious injury after a six-meter python pulled him underwater and attempted to constrict him during a river expedition.
The incident occurred as Heru, an experienced snake handler and tour guide, was navigating a river with a group near the island’s dense jungle. According to video footage, Heru spotted the large snake near the riverbank and reached into the water to grab it near the head. Moments later, the python dragged him off the boat and into the murky river.
As the guide resurfaced, the python wraps began constricting around his torso, quickly tightening around his arms and neck. Crew members on the boat immediately intervened, with two men wrestling the snake—one grabbing its head, the other its tail.
Despite the frightening scene, Heru was not injured. The python was eventually subdued, brought onboard briefly for documentation, and then released back into the wild. The team emphasized that they follow a non-harm policy regarding wildlife. “It was the biggest and strongest snake we’ve ever seen,” said Mohamad Alisa, who filmed the incident. “The python wraps were almost impossible to break.”
This is not the first such incident in Indonesia involving large snakes. Earlier this year, a farmer in Southeast Sulawesi was killed and swallowed by an 8.5-meter python while tending to livestock.
Pythons, non-venomous constrictors, are known for ambushing prey and killing by suffocation through tight python wraps. They inhabit diverse environments, including swamps and forests, and sometimes enter residential zones in search of food.
Borneo is home to several python species, including the Reticulated Python and the Borneo short-tailed python.