So when local conservationist Budi Purwanto moved to secure the animal, the urgency was not about fame. It was about keeping a rare snake alive long enough for someone to see what was really there.

Once, a python named Medusa held the trophy of the largest captive snake alive, being 25 ft 2 in long. But only last year, an even bigger specimen was found. The snake was 26.2 ft long, and it was ...