Who is the Romanian who discovered the longest snake in the world: “Baroneasa” is over 7 meters long and entered the Book of Records
A Romanian explorer discovered the longest snake in the world, on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. It is a female python, and according to Guinness World Records (GWR), it is 7.2 meters long.
Radu Frentiu discovered the longest snake/PHOTO: Guinness World Records
Under anesthesia, GWR says, when the snake's body fully relaxes, it could be at least 10% longer – so in reality its true length is probably closer to 7.9m.
Because there are risks with anesthesia, the organization felt that animals should “fall asleep” only for safety reasons or for necessary medical procedures, so this has not been tested.
The snake, now in the care of local conservationist Budi Purwanto, was assessed by Diaz Nugraha, a wildlife guide, rescuer and licensed snake handler from Kalimantan, Borneo, along with Radu Frentiu, an explorer and photographer who has lived in Bali for two decades. According to the Bihoreanul website, the Romanian explorer is from Beiuș, Bihor county.
Nugraha and Frentiu organized a trip to Sulawesi as soon as they heard rumors about this very long snake.
“Every spiral of muscle in that snake is a real force, and each one seemed to work independently. It is the strength of such a snake that impresses you most, along with its ability to expand when swallowing huge prey, even the size of a cow – something impossible for most people to conceive.”said Radu Frentiu for Guinness World Records.
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Radu Frentiu next to the huge python/PHOTO: Guinness World Records
“If you're afraid, there's no point in doing the things I do”
Invited to Digi24 to talk about his discovery, Radu Frentiu confessed that he was not afraid of the female python.
“It's a pleasure. I have attention, yes, but no fear. If you're afraid, there's no point doing the things I do. Plus I'm surrounded by professional, knowledgeable people – locals, natives, mostly snake walkers, zoologists. I have a whole team of beautiful, local people who help me and I can always count on.
Success is never one man's. If you hear someone bragging about themselves, it will never be the case. It's always a team's credit and I want to thank my Indonesian friends the most”said Frentiu.
He also said that he realized it could be the longest snake in the world from the moment he saw it.
“The moment I saw it I knew it might be a world record and apparently it is. If the python, or “Baroness”, as it is nicknamed, had been sedated or if it had been, as usually happens, killed, it would have been much longer, but we preferred to definitely keep the animal alive. I gave it to a local herpetologist who takes care of it, and in the meantime I discovered another one, not so big, which was also saved in its turn.” said the explorer.
According to Guinness World Records, the female python was christened “Ibu Baron” (which translates to “Baroness”). She joins other snakes that Purwanto has rescued in Sulawesi in recent years, setting up a sort of snake sanctuary.
