15-Foot Python Found Near Waukegan Beach

A landscaper trimming bushes near Waukegan Municipal Beach came across a very large, potentially very dangerous surprise while working Monday.

The man discovered an albino, pale yellow Burmese python that was between 12 and 15 feet long around 10 a.m. near Sea Horse Drive and Clayton Street in the North Shore Chicago suburb, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Waukegan Police Lt. Ed Fitzgerald told the Daily Herald that the worker "was shocked and surprised when he came across it."

The constrictor, which was sluggish due to the cool weather, was picked up by animal control officers without any incident, according to the Associated Press. (Visit ABC Chicago to view photos of the snake.)

Officials at Lake Forest's Wildlife Discovery Center, where the reptile was taken, said the python was ill, but otherwise in good shape, the Sun-Times reports.

The Burmese python can reach up to 23 feet in length and are the large snake of choice for reptile owners.

The discovery recalls the escape last year of a six-and-a-half foot long python in suburban Joliet. More recently, a Burmese python more than 17 feet in length -- and carrying 87 eggs -- was discovered in Florida's Everglades last month.