Guinness World Records
Photographer Radu Frentiu lying next to the Baroness
The gigantic female reticulated python is the length of a football goal, and weighs an impressive 97 kilograms, the same as an adult giant panda. But I hadn’t eaten recently…
A snake found in late 2025 in southwestern Indonesia pulverized the Guinness World Record for the longest snake ever seen in the wild. Nicknamed “Ibu Baron” (to Baroness)co 7,21 metros from head to tail — about the length of a regulation football goal.
The length of the gigantic female reticulated python (Malayopython reticulatus) is 25 centimeters longer than the previous record, held by another female reticulated python from Borneo, measured in 1999. Even so, herpetologists at the site suspect that the actual length could be technically even greater.
The world record was confirmed earlier this year in Maros, a town in the Indonesian province of South Sulawesi. A team of experts, which included conservationist Budi Purwantosnake handler Diaz Nugraha and photographer Radu Frontiutook the lead in measuring and documenting the reptile.
Everyone was aware that time was preciousafter having learned of the animal’s existence through a common acquaintance.
Reticulated pythons much shorter in length than the Baroness are often killed by locals when they are sighted, due to the threat they pose to livestockdomestic animals, children and even some adults.
Fortunately, the new record holder was still safe and sound when the team located her. The group confirmed its length with the help of volunteers, but noted that the measurement may even be off. underestimate your real sizel.
The Baroness was measured fully awake and without any anesthesia. It is known that snakes can lengthen up to 10% when the muscles relax during sedation, which means it can reach 8 meters. However, as the procedure carries risks, conservationists did not want to put her in danger unnecessarily.
Weighing followed. With some impressive 97 kilosits weight is equivalent to that of an adult giant panda, according to the recent Guinness World Records announcement. And it is true that the Baroness sometimes it weighs even moresince, at the date of weighing, hadn’t eaten recently.
Although reticulated pythons are not poisonous, they are still extremely dangerous. Most of the enormous python’s weight is due to its incredibly powerful musculaturewhich it uses to ensnare and suffocate prey, explains .
“Each muscular coil of this snake is a source of strength and seemed to function independently,” said Frentiu in a Guinness paper. «It is the power of a snake like this impresses in silencealong with its ability to expand when swallowing huge prey, which can reach the size of a cow, something that is practically impossible to understand for most people”.
Although they are not naturally attracted to densely populated areas, Encounters with pythons and other snakes are on the rise in countries like Indonesia.
Populations of the usual prey animals, such as cattle and wild boar, are declining as habitats are destroyed. However, the poaching of pythons continues to be a serious problem.
«Our hope is that pythons and other giant snakes will no longer be seen as harmful animals and will start to be seen as a symbol of the islands and as animals indispensable to the ecosystem», added Frentiu.
The Baroness, however, probably you won’t have to worry anymore with none of that. It is the most recent and longest resident of the Budi Purwanto property, where it cohabits with several other snakes rescued in similar situations.
