A fearless woman fought off a 16-foot Burmese python with a pocket knife after it attacked her pet dog in a country park here, stabbing the reptile until it released its grip on the pooch and slid away.
Courtney Link, a British expatriate who lives in Sai Kung, repeatedly punched the huge snake and stabbed it with a pocket knife until it released her two-year-old mongrel Dexter and slithered away.
The attack occurred last weekend as Link was walking Dexter, who weighs about 24kg, with husband Pete in Sai Kung West Country Park.
While they were walking, Dexter ran ahead and out of sight. The couple heard "frantic barking and a strange gurgling noise".
They found the dog in the deadly grip of a huge python, coiled around the canine's body, neck and head, 'South China Morning Post' reported.
"I immediately began to pummel the snake with my fists, but to no avail," said Link.
Her husband remembered he had packed his pocket knife and pulled it from his backpack.
"Dexter was starting to weaken and he eventually stopped struggling altogether. At that point we really thought we had lost him. So when I suddenly saw the snake's head, I just started stabbing furiously," Link said.
"Apart from some nasty bite wounds to his chest and legs, Dexter has made a complete recovery and he is back to his exuberant and hyper self," Link said.
"I deeply regret I had to seriously injure a protected animal, but I acted only to save the life of my dog," Link said.
The Burmese python is Hong Kong's biggest natural predator and can grow up to six metres (20 foot) long.
