A giant python bit off more than it could chew when it tried to swallow a pregnant ewe.

It got stuck on a road this week after swallowing the ewe in the Malaysian village of Kampung Jabor, about 200 kilometres east of Kuala Lumpur.

The six-metre reptile weighing 90 kilograms was too laden to move, making it easy for firemen to capture it, said a local daily newspaper.