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 HUGE snake on the loose!!!

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leftoflarry
smd58
Lokielani
MADKATTER
Don
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acl2790
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HUGE snake on the loose!!! Empty
PostSubject: HUGE snake on the loose!!!   HUGE snake on the loose!!! EmptyTue May 22, 2012 9:19 pm

The DNR said they think it's a black rat snake. Really? This guy is HUGE! What do you all think it is?

http://www.wbtv.com/story/18590445/large-snake-slithering-through-columbia-neighborhood
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Bobbykaizer
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PostSubject: Re: HUGE snake on the loose!!!   HUGE snake on the loose!!! EmptyTue May 22, 2012 9:35 pm

i think it could very well be a black rat snake. i have caught one well over 6 ft! almost as big around as my arm.. they do get pretty big, just not seen that big very often.. but i wish he was in my yard:)
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Don
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PostSubject: Re: HUGE snake on the loose!!!   HUGE snake on the loose!!! EmptyTue May 22, 2012 9:53 pm

My first thought when reading your post and looking at the small pic, was Eastern Indigo. But, the pattern does not match, it isn't black enough and it is bigger. Doesn't look like a rat to me, but then again, I'm not very good at identification of native herps. I'm not aware of any snake that gets that large that is native to the US.
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Bobbykaizer
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PostSubject: Re: HUGE snake on the loose!!!   HUGE snake on the loose!!! EmptyTue May 22, 2012 10:15 pm

itmight be some kind of genetic thing every once in a while in a family line. like those sub saharan ball pythons, maybe the same thing?? either way, cool snake
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MADKATTER
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PostSubject: Re: HUGE snake on the loose!!!   HUGE snake on the loose!!! EmptyTue May 22, 2012 10:51 pm

That ain't no rat snake and it fo sho ain't native. It kinda looks like some type of Australian python.
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Bobbykaizer
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PostSubject: Re: HUGE snake on the loose!!!   HUGE snake on the loose!!! EmptyTue May 22, 2012 11:34 pm

ok yeah, i didnt see the columbia partat first i thought it was around here. so yeah, could be some type of python.
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Lokielani
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PostSubject: Re: HUGE snake on the loose!!!   HUGE snake on the loose!!! EmptyWed May 23, 2012 12:53 am

MADKATTER wrote:
That ain't no rat snake and it fo sho ain't native. It kinda looks like some type of Australian python.

cryingwithlaughter

It didn't look like a rat snake to me either. I have known a couple around where I am to get 8-10 feet so I suppose it's possible.
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smd58
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PostSubject: Re: HUGE snake on the loose!!!   HUGE snake on the loose!!! EmptyWed May 23, 2012 7:08 am

It dose have a python kind of look, not the best picture.
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leftoflarry
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PostSubject: Re: HUGE snake on the loose!!!   HUGE snake on the loose!!! EmptyWed May 23, 2012 11:56 am

Pic's a bit fuzzy but it looks like a rat snake to me. These guys can get up to 8 feet long. Record length is 256.5 cm (8 ft. 5 in)
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Focal
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PostSubject: Re: HUGE snake on the loose!!!   HUGE snake on the loose!!! EmptyWed May 23, 2012 12:17 pm

But this one is 15-20 FEETS!!
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BlackboxStar
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PostSubject: Re: HUGE snake on the loose!!!   HUGE snake on the loose!!! EmptyWed May 23, 2012 12:49 pm

I'm not really sure looking at it, but so many of the people who have said it's not a rat snake tend toward the joe schmo side of things.

I just can't take someone who says:
OMG THAT'S SRSLY NOT A RAT SNAKE WHAT KIND OF BULL**** IS THIS SOMEONE JUST DIDN"T WANNA DO THEIR JOB. THAT'S AN ANACONDA IF THERE EVER WAS ONE
as seriously as I take

officials at the Department of Natural Resources say they're positive that it is a black rat snake.

and with Larry's opinion in agreement I put full faith in the belief that this is in fact a black rat snake.

As for the size...I highly doubt that the animal in that picture is 15 to 20 feet. Ten maybe but 15 to 20 was a rough estimate taken by a guy who
1. knows nothing about snakes and therefore doesn't understand that they can look bigger than they are.
2. is afraid of snakes and we know from this study that fear of something causes the person to misinterpret the size of that thing as much as 300%.

Therefore I have absolutely no faith in this gentleman's assessment of the animal's length.
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BlackboxStar
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PostSubject: Re: HUGE snake on the loose!!!   HUGE snake on the loose!!! EmptyWed May 23, 2012 12:56 pm

Also, I was watching swamp wars on animal planet the other day (I don't know why I was watching it, but the end result was me yelling at the television about what utter crap the show was) The only good part about the show was when the animal control officers were swapping stories about the false alarms they got called to.

They actually showed the guy go into the house to retrieve a snake the size of a worm. The entire family is freaking out in another room as this three inch snake is curled up under the couch.

"I got called for dog poop once" one guy said. "The lady was yelling at me 'IT"S EATING MY DOG'"

It just shows how the intense fear can warp people's judgments.
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leftoflarry
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PostSubject: Re: HUGE snake on the loose!!!   HUGE snake on the loose!!! EmptyWed May 23, 2012 2:21 pm

iagree People's fears and ignorance of snakes will no doubt increase and exaggerate their description of the object they fear. What we probably have here, is potentially a record length rat snake. No way is this snake 15-20 feet long, even judging by the crappy pictures. They are specialized climbers, the colors fit.... could this be an exotic? Perhaps, but what species would this be? What black large arboreal pythons with a white ventral coloration are there that get that size?

HUGE snake on the loose!!! Erat5-id

HUGE snake on the loose!!! Erat7-id

Pictures from the story:
HUGE snake on the loose!!! 1630411_G

HUGE snake on the loose!!! 1630506_G
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acl2790
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PostSubject: Re: HUGE snake on the loose!!!   HUGE snake on the loose!!! EmptyWed May 23, 2012 3:29 pm

Wow, thanks for the input and pics! Looking again at the news site, maybe it could be up to 15 feet, just look at it in comparison to the shed just behind the tree.

HUGE snake on the loose!!! 18590410
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leftoflarry
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PostSubject: Re: HUGE snake on the loose!!!   HUGE snake on the loose!!! EmptyWed May 23, 2012 4:09 pm

Keep in mind that the snake is closer to the camera than the shed, obviously making it look bigger. THis is a camera trick often used to make things look bigger than they are.
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MADKATTER
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PostSubject: Re: HUGE snake on the loose!!!   HUGE snake on the loose!!! EmptyWed May 23, 2012 4:27 pm

OMG it's Big Foot!
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smd58
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HUGE snake on the loose!!! Empty
PostSubject: Re: HUGE snake on the loose!!!   HUGE snake on the loose!!! EmptyWed May 23, 2012 8:30 pm

It was a guy doing the measuring. And we know a guy would never lie about a size. Facepalm

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Don
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PostSubject: Re: HUGE snake on the loose!!!   HUGE snake on the loose!!! EmptyThu May 24, 2012 9:49 am

Good update on the story. The optical illusion that created the size is called forced perspective.

http://www.thestate.com/2012/05/24/2287973/heathwood-snake-slithers-to-stardom.html
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jw
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PostSubject: Re: HUGE snake on the loose!!!   HUGE snake on the loose!!! EmptyThu May 24, 2012 9:55 am

Looks like a ratsnake to me.
I can't tell from the photo what lens was used, but telephoto lenses compress space, bringing the background closer to the foreground. In this case the brain/eye looks for something to scale the snake and because the building in the photo appears closer than it truly is, the snake appears larger.

This same effect is used here:

http://graphics1.snopes.com/photos/animals/graphics/txsnake.jpg



Last edited by jw on Thu May 24, 2012 10:25 am; edited 1 time in total
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fuzz
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HUGE snake on the loose!!! Empty
PostSubject: Re: HUGE snake on the loose!!!   HUGE snake on the loose!!! EmptyThu May 24, 2012 10:19 am

Seen the pics yesterday in pic 8 the snakes head is not as big as in the the one in pic above.An if you notice the tree in the pic is not nearly as big when they are standing beside it in the interveiw.
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leftoflarry
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PostSubject: Re: HUGE snake on the loose!!!   HUGE snake on the loose!!! EmptyThu May 24, 2012 2:22 pm

All ado about a rat snake. People's fears will always dictate their reactions.
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fuzz
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PostSubject: Re: HUGE snake on the loose!!!   HUGE snake on the loose!!! EmptyFri May 25, 2012 11:51 am

Would love to see that in my back yard.
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leftoflarry
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PostSubject: Re: HUGE snake on the loose!!!   HUGE snake on the loose!!! EmptyFri May 25, 2012 12:14 pm

fuzz wrote:
Would love to see that in my back yard.

iagree
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