The Royal Python is the most widely sold snake in the pet trade, it is also killed for its beautiful skin.

It is very difficult to breed royal pythons in captivity, so in order to keep up with the high demand for them more are taken out of the wild.

The Royal Python is the smallest of the African pythons; they have short tails and powerful, muscular bodies which they use - like all pythons and boas - to constrict their prey.

This species of snake is often called a ball python because of its tendency to curl up into a ball with its head inside if threatened.