A Zimbabwean man has been jailed for nine years for eating python, a protected species, a Zimbabwean daily reported on Friday.

Archwell Maramba said he had been eating the snake meat for its medicinal value.

"I wanted to eat the python to cure my spine and since I ate my first python I have seen remarkable improvement," NewsDay quoted Maramba as saying during his court case.

Acting on a tipoff, police found the 58-year-old drying snakeskin and python meat stashed in his house.

Source: IBN