Fluffy Is Dead!

The longest snake living in captivity has died. The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium said workers found the 24-foot python yesterday morning (10/27/10) dead from an apparent tumor.

The snake, named Fluffy, held the Guinness World Record as the longest snake living in captivity. It was about as long as a moving van and as thick as a telephone pole. It weighed 300 pounds.

The 18-year-old reticulated python had drawn large crowds since the zoo got it in 2007.

Reticulated pythons are named for the cross-hatching patterns on their skin and average 10 to 20 feet long. The largest recorded one was 32 feet, 9-1/2 inches long when it was killed in 1912 in Indonesia.