G’Ea, Israel (REUTERS) — Eight-year-old Inbar likes to cool off in her small backyard pool in Israel with her favorite swimming buddy – her pet python.

The 11-foot yellow serpent, named Belle, is one of her family’s many pets, living happily together on an animal sanctuary in an agricultural community in southern Israel.

She was named after Belle, the female character in Walt Disney’s popular animated film Beauty and the Beast, who dons a yellow ball gown in a famous dance scene in the movie.

Inbar said Belle is good company during a coronavirus lockdown that has kept schools closed over the past few weeks.

“It helps me pass the time because I really like to hang out with snakes and sometimes I help snakes shed (their skin) and I help them to be happy during coronavirus,” Inbar said.

Sarit Regev, Inbar’s mother, said the two grew up together and swam together in the bathtub.

An 8-year-old girl in southern Israel likes to cool off in her backyard pool with an unusual swimming buddy, her 11-foot long pet python.

The snake, named “Belle,”  is one of many pets the girl has living on her family’s animal sanctuary. The girl named the python after the Disney princess from Beauty and the Beast.