37-year-old Robert Nababan, a security guard on a palm oil plantation in Indonesia, encountered a 26ft python on Saturday, September 30th.

According to the BBC and the Washington Post, Nababan attempted to catch the python, which was lying across the road, when it attacked him. “I tried to catch it, my hand was bitten, and I managed to wrestle it.” He managed to kill the python with the help of a few villagers. Nababan got away, suffering severe injuries. His reasoning for wanting to capture the python is unknown, but he said that villagers were too scared to cross the street. Varying reports say that he either wanted to help the scared villagers or just clear the road. Nababan is currently in the hospital recovering from the fight. His hand was reportedly badly injured and “might have to be cut off.”

The snake’s body was strung up for display in the village before being cut up and fried for food. The head of the Batang Gansal district government, Elinaryon, reported to BBC reporters that pythons and snakes alike were common around Sumatra, his district, due to the amount of mice in the fields. There are reportedly “at least 10 sightings of them a year. In the dry season they come out looking for a drink, in the wet they come out to take a bath in the rain.” Elinaryon warns people that they should not try and tackle and of the giant reptiles in the area, “of course the snake, if you try and kill it, is going to get really angry and that’s when it fights back!”