Expatriate Catherine Leonard, 41, kicked and punched the snake after seeing it wrap itself around her pet dog, a 20 kg mongrel called Poppy, near her home in the former British colony.
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| ©Simon Perry |
Ms Leonard was walking Poppy and two other dogs on a trail close to a family picnic area in Hong Kong's rural New Territories last Sunday when the python pounced on Poppy, biting her and coiling itself around her.
After hearing what she described as "a yelping that was like a scream", Ms Leonard, a keen runner who organises amateur marathons, dashed to free the four-year-old dog, kicking and grappling with the snake.
"I'm not sure exactly what I did but I kicked it and I tried to pull Poppy free. The snake was twisted around her, that was the problem," she said.
"Somehow Poppy managed to get away and the python slithered away. It was all over in about a minute.
"I was very shaken afterwards and really scared. If I'd had the chance to think about it, I wouldn't have done what I did, but I hear the dog in distress and I just waded in there.
"I knew that if I didn't do anything the snake would get her, because I knew what had happened to the husky last year."
The attack happened on the same stretch of path where in July last year a 22 kg husky, owned by a 32-year-old South African expatriate, was crushed to death in front of her owner by a python.
Warning signs were posted up by officials after the incident but Ms Leonard said she believed the python should, if possible, be captured and relocated.
"That snake means business," she said.
"There are a lot of these pythons about but this one is quite territorial and quite prepared to attack.
"These two attacks have both been close to the family walk and people do go out hiking with four children. A small child would weigh less than my dog."
Police and a local snake catcher, Briton Dave Willott, searched for the python after the attack without success.
Mr Willott said: "Catherine was very courageous and definitely saved her dog's life. It would have been unconscious within two minutes and dead within five minutes.
"Pythons can strike fast. They usually go for the head and dog will usually try to smell a snake and stick its nose at it which is the perfect opportunity for the snake to grab the head.
"In this case, the snake probably thought 'I've had enough of this' and let go which is unusual. They are used to their prey fighting back so if they are attacked when they're in a feeding frenzy they grab hold and coil around tighter and tighter."
Mr Willott, who captures and snakes and releases them in safer areas, added: "You can't be certain it is the same python that killed the husky last year. It could well be and possibly is but I am sure there is more than one big python in that area."
Despite its reputation as a high-rise city, Hong Kong has large rural areas north of Kowloon with country parks which are home to monkeys, wild boar, small deer and numerous snakes.
The territory's population of Burmese pythons is believed to have grown because of a halt in the hunting of wild boar in recent years, which used to be stalked by shotgun teams.
Burmese pythons can grow to around 6m long and to a weight of 90kg and will often ambush prey by lying in wait at water holes or by hanging from trees.
Usually they feed on small mammals such as birds and cats. However, larger species have been known to make meals out of much bigger prey including dogs, deer and calves and - in some countries - even small children.
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