The Shocking True Story of How a Giant Snake Got the Last Laugh On Some Poachers

What if you were just trying to do your job and suddenly got involved in matters of life, death, and serious international crime?

That’s exactly what happened to a ranger one day when he reported for work at Zambia’s Kafue National Park. He was expecting a day of business as usual, but that was when he caught sight of an unnaturally large snake. And in his efforts to save the snake’s life, the ranger stumbled into the midst of a major crime ring.

Just who is this ranger, though? What happened to the snake, and did the criminals face justice for their horrific actions? Keep reading to find out!

Meet ranger Paul Deen

Our story begins with Ranger Paul Deen. In many ways, we think Deen lives up to the nearly-impossible standards once set by Steve Irwin when it comes to loving animals and respecting nature. Deen works at the Kafue National Park, and he has a well-deserved reputation for going out of his way to help animals that he thinks may be in danger.

In other words, helping animals is just part of the job for this ranger. But he got much more than just another day at work when he stumbled onto perhaps the fattest snake he has ever seen.

RELATED: The Horrifying Snake Pit One Man Discovered Contains a Shocking Hidden Secret

Paul, meet snake

As a ranger, Paul Deen is no stranger to encounters with snakes. But he knew something was wrong with this particular snake as soon as he laid eyes on him. Even from a distance, Deen could see this snake was much larger than it should be, so he decided to drive a bit closer to the creature to get a better look.

Once he got that closer look, Deen quickly determined there was something wrong with the snake, and that both figuring out what was wrong and making it better were things he couldn’t do on his own. Therefore, he made a phone call to one of his oldest allies in the fight for wildlife preservation.

Dropping everything to help the snake

At this point, the ranger dropped everything else he was doing to focus on the welfare of the snake. This is something he was known for, especially among other rangers. At one point, Deen had spent many long hours helping a gazelle to escape a hole that it had gotten stuck into. But this is just what he did: he discovers animals that need help and he then does everything he can to make them better.

In the case of the oversized snake, he knew he couldn’t do this on his own. He called up a local veterinarian who also happened to be a snake expert. If anyone could help the snake, it would be this man. But it was only when the vet started working on the snake that he realized how much more difficult things had just become for himself and the ranger.

RELATED: The Biggest Snake In The World Captured

Why the size of the snake was so important

At this point, you might be wondering: why was it such a big deal that the snake was so fat? After all, some snakes are naturally very large, and it’s possible for snakes, like humans, to get overweight simply by eating too much.

However, that’s actually the point: this particular breed of snake is not very large. And most snakes in nature don’t get overweight for the simple fact that they must hunt down their food, constantly moving from one meal to another.

Therefore, there had to be an explanation for why the snake was so fat, just as there had to be an explanation for why it had wandered so far away from its family. Once the ranger and the veterinarian got the answer, though, they couldn’t believe what had happened.

The shocking answer for why the snake was so fat

The vet had to operate on the snake, and he made a stunning discovery while doing so. It was so shocking that he exclaimed “I can’t believe this!” and ran off to call the local police. As you might expect, this left ranger Paul Deen curious as to what the vet discovered.

As it turns out, the snake had a tracking device inside of it. Local poachers had fed the snake meat with the device inside of it, and they planned to later hunt and kill the snake so they could make money from its scales. Of course, the snake couldn’t properly digest the tracking device, which caused a painful infection and swelling that made it look so fat.

Fortunately, the vet was able to save the snake’s life. The animal recovered and was soon reunited with his family. As for the poachers, the ranger and the vet, along with the local police, decided to give them exactly what they deserved.

RELATED: You Won’t Believe What Scientists Found Inside This Giant Alligator

A happy ending: everyone got what they deserved

The thing about the tracking device inside of the snake is that the signal went both ways. The poachers were using it to track down the snake. But now that police had the tracking device, they were able to use it to hunt down the poachers. This resulted in the arrest of 10 poachers, effectively ending a major poaching ring in the area.

As for ranger Paul Deen, he was given a medal for his part in busting these poachers. But if you ask Deen, the medal wasn’t really necessary. Being able to save an animal’s life and make sure those who hurt it got locked behind bars was most certainly reward enough.