Miami woman finds 9-foot python under porch

A Miami homeowner discovered a 9-foot Burmese python slithering under her porch Tuesday night, NBC Miami reports.

Judy Tortoriello called police around 8:30 p.m. when she and neighbors spotted the snake at her home on Bayshore Drive and 18th Avenue. When the Miami Fire Rescue Venom Unit arrived, they found the python hiding under her front porch, the NBC Miami story says. The rescue team captured the snake.

"It was scary," Tortoriello told NBC Miami. "I'm glad it's out, because I do have four cats. I don't want a snake to kill my cat or anything like that."

Lt. Lisa Wood of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Venom Unit told NBC Miami that pythons will attack small animals but avoid people. Wood could not confirm where the python came from “because it is not common to see pythons in this part of Miami,” she told NBC Miami.

The snake was transferred to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.