According to Joaquim Castelão Rodrigues, the alert arrived "around 4pm", and a patrol of nature watchers from the Ria Formosa Natural Park was sent to the site, in the district of Faro.

According to the official, people “were walking on a pedestrian path next to Fonte Benémola” and saw the animal, alerting the authorities, “to whom they sent a video, to witness the encounter and the real size of the reptile”.

After searching the site, the surveillance patrol “managed to capture the specimen”, confirming the data of the walkers and measuring the size of “four metres”.

The animal will "stay overnight at the ICNF facilities" at Quinta de Marim, in Olhão, until a place is found where it can be treated, he said.

"We are going to look for a solution for the snake, see who can afford it, a 'zoo' here in the Algarve, or maybe in Lisbon," said Joaquim Castelão Rodrigues.

Advancing that it was not possible to ascertain the origin of the animal, those responsible underlined that, being an exotic and albino animal, normally kept in captivity, there is a “great probability that it was released” by a citizen, due to its size.

Python snakes are native to the African and Asian continents and classified as exotic animals, but appreciated by some people as pets and kept in captivity.

None of the snakes in this family have poison-inoculating teeth, however, they have sharp tusks curved inward to grab their prey.

Depending on the species, its length can vary between four to six metres.