By Tom Blakey
"Merlin," a 12-foot albino Burmese python, is missing from Little River Zoo and is probably getting hungry, zoo officials warn.
"His feeding day was last Saturday. He's going to get potentially pretty dangerous," said Janet Sadler Schmid, Little River Zoo director and co-founder.
Merlin is a finicky eater, usually dining on dead rats of a certain temperature, Schmid said.
This is the second time in 10 days the snake has been taken from the zoo, she said.
The snake and a giant tortoise went missing from the zoo the morning of Sept. 24. That afternoon, a young man and his girlfriend came to the zoo "asking all these questions about the very two animals that were stolen," Schmid said.
Zoo workers delayed the pair and contacted police. Police followed the pair to their residence, where the python and tortoise were identified and recovered by zoo officials.
Police interviewed the man, and learned the snake had been taken from the zoo and given to him by a friend -- someone the man refused to identify.
Three days later, the snake went missing again.
"Someone came into the zoo and took him out of his enclosure sometime between 12:15 a.m. and 7 a.m. Friday," Schmid said.
"Obviously they want this snake," she said.
Schmid said it would've been almost impossible for anyone to steal the python without inside help. "We stepped up security, changed the combinations on our locks and put other security measures in place.
"For them to come in the zoo, they had to know where Merlin was," she said. The snake was being kept in a huge aquarium in the barnyard, she said.
Until someone provides police or zoo officials with information concerning the snake's whereabouts, Schmid is cautioning the public about its potential danger.
Although not venomous, the snake could bite if cornered or harassed.
"He bites first and constricts around whatever he's bitten," she said. "The bite wound would be pretty terrible, as would the strength of a snake that size."
Merlin has been at Little River Zoo for seven or eight years and is one of the zoo's most popular educational attractions. The snake often is taken to schools and events, she said.
Meanwhile, Schmid said she's alerted "all the major herpetology people," pet stores and pet shows. "We have a whole network of people looking for him," she said.
Anyone with information should call Norman police at 321-1444 or Little River Zoo at 366-7299.
Tom Blakey 366-3540 tblakey@normantranscript.com
