The python – that, at 8m long could be the longest ever – which was caught in Penang a few days ago has died, but not until after it laid an egg, civil defence force officials have reported.

Local authorities said the snake was estimated to be 8m long, beating the previous Guinness world record, in Paya Terubong on Penang island, reported The Guardian.

The snake was  a reticulated python, which is widely considered as the longest reptile species, found mainly in southeast Asia. The creature was spotted on the site of a new flyover on Thursday and the authorities were called, who took 30 minutes to trap the snake.

“It is eight metres in length and weighs about 250kg,”
– Herme Herisyam, an official with Malaysia’s Civil Defence Force that caught the snake

It has since emerged that the python died on Sunday after giving birth, as reported by the BBC. It is not clear why the serpent died yet, although it has been noted that a man kicking the python, as per this video:

Currently, the longest snake ever in captivity is Medusa, according to The Guinness Book of World Records. Medusa is also a reticulated python and lives in Missouri. She is kept on show at The Edge of Hell Haunted House in Kansas City.

She was measured at 7.67 meters in the 2011 edition and still holds the title, although she apparently is over 90 kg lighter than the Malaysian specimen, weighing 158.8 kg.

Reticulated pythons, whose gridded pattern on their skin gives them their name, are normally 3m to 6m long. In 1912, a python found and shot in Indonesia was apparently 10 metres long.