BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Authorities say they've been searching for a 12-foot python that escaped from its enclosure inside Louisiana's largest shopping mall.

Cara, a yellow and white Burmese python, slithered out of its enclosure at the Blue Zoo in the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge on Tuesday, news outlets reported. She was still on the loose early Wednesday morning, WBRZ-TV reported, after a search overnight, when such snakes are most active.

"While we've created a very secure home for Cara, our Burmese Python, she has slithered out of her exhibit," the Blue Zoo said in a statement. "Cara...