Indonesia. The world's longest wild snake has been discovered on the island of Sulawesi. It is a reticulated python named 'Ibu Baron', whose size has been officially recorded. This snake can easily swallow a calf, if not a full-grown cow. Frentiou, an explorer and wildlife photographer who lived in Bali for two decades, had encountered many giant snakes before, but 'Ibu Baron' deserved special recognition. The Guinness World Records recently confirmed that 'Ibu Baron' is the longest wild snake ever reliably measured and documented. The snake was first discovered in late 2025 in the Maros region of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Frentiou was introduced to the giant snake by Diaz Nugraha, a local wildlife guide, rescuer, and licensed snake handler from Borneo. The fact that 'Ibu Baron' survived makes her exceptional. Local environmental conservation expert Budi Purwanto played a significant role in her survival by quickly acting on the news of the snake. Instead of allowing it to be sold or killed, he took possession of the snake and built a temporary shelter for it on his property, where she now lives alongside several other rescued snakes. Her weight was 213 pounds (96.6 kg) on an empty stomach. Frentiou notes that the snake's actual size may have been larger, as she was not anesthetized during the measurement. The two traveled together to Sulawesi to examine the snake up close and measure it. On January 18, Frentiou and Nugraha weighed 'Ibu Baron' and measured her, documenting the process with photos and video to ensure transparency. Using a measuring tape that followed the snake's natural body curves, they recorded a total length of 23 feet 8 inches (7.2 meters) from head to tail tip. Frentiou says: 'These giant animals attract attention as status symbols and often meet with a bad fate. When a snake is anesthetized, its muscles fully relax, which can increase its length by 10 to 15%. Reticulated pythons are already the longest snake species in the world, typically ranging from 10 to 19 feet. Historically, larger individuals have been reported, but most of those claims relied on secondhand accounts or on snakes that were killed shortly after being found. In many cases, the snakes disappeared before their size could be verified.'
