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Tag: giant snake

  • Lake Hopatcong Snake: What Is It Really?

    There have been recent reports that a giant snake is living in Lake Hopatcong in New Jersey. According to several witnesses who say they have seen the snake, it is between 15 and 20 feet long.

    Animal control services have been called to locate and remove the snake from the lake, but many of them are not sure what kind of snake they are looking for. Some people claim the snake is a boa constrictor and others say it is an anaconda.

    How the snake got into the lake is a mystery as well, but it is not uncommon for pet owners to release unwanted animals into the wild or for them to escape on their own.

    One animal control expert who is searching for the snake says that the snake is a gigantic green anaconda. He also says he was told not to reveal the type of snake it was because officials were afraid it would cause a panic.

    “It’s a green anaconda,” Reptile specialist Gerald Andrejcak said. “I’ve known its species (since last week), but I was sworn to keep my mouth shut by local officials to avoid causing a panic. Now that there’s a panic, I’m going on the record.”

    Many people have spotted the snake over the last few weeks. Several boaters, fishermen and people who live near the lake have called animal control to report a large snake swimming in the lake.

    Andrejcak said that the snake is not likely to attack people unless they threaten it. Anacondas are members of the boa constrictor family and squeeze their pray to kill it before they eat it. He suggests that anyone who sees the snake should avoid getting too close to it or trying to capture it themselves. Instead, they should call the police or animal control.

    Do you think there is really an anaconda swimming in the New Jersey lake?

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Titanoboa: Snake was 48 Feet Long and Weighed 2,500 Pounds

    The Smithsonian has installed an exhibit in Grand Central Station called “Titanoboa” that showcases a 48 foot long replica of the world’s largest snake. The serpent grew longer than a bus.

    The replica of the 2,500-pound snake was unveiled Wednesday at the commuter hub to “stimulate public interest in science, and promote the Smithsonian’s more extensive titanoboa exhibit in D.C., which opens next week.”

    The bones of the boa beast were found in a coal mine in Columbia by a team of paleontologists in 2009. Titanoboa overshadowed the Eocene epoch’s Gigantophis and is now the largest snake ever discovered.

    The longest snake currently inhabiting the planet is the the reticulate python which stretches a little more than half the length of the titanoboa.

    Titanoboa grew up to 2500 lbs. while the green anaconda, the world’s current heavy weight champion, is about a tenth of its weight.

    Good thing these things are not alive!

    Check out what was involved with the construction of the replica in the following YouTube video:

    The Smithsonian Channel will be telling the story of this gargantuan animal in a documentary that will cover the discovery of its remains and what it reveals about the history of the Earth’s ecosystem.

    The TV channel stated that “In the pantheon of predators, it’s one of the greatest discoveries since the T-Rex: a snake 48 feet long, weighing in at 2,500 pounds. Uncovered from a treasure trove of fossils in a Colombian coal mine, this serpent is revealing a lost world of giant creatures. Travel back to the period following the extinction of dinosaurs and encounter this monster predator.”

    “Titanoboa: Monster Snake,” is a 2-hour special about the enormous constrictor; it is scheduled to premiere on Sunday, April 1 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The documentary is also set for Blu-ray release on April 3.