Take a look at this picture and shudder.
That's apparently the moulted skin of a snake. An enormously large snake. A snake that was last spotted munching on a large mammal, possibly a beaver.
That was back in June. But now comes this picture from over the weekend, indicating it's still hanging around.
The townsfolk in Westbrook, Maine, are fascinated. They've given the 10-foot-long reptile a name, Wessie. It's got its own Twitter feed (obviously) ...
Transfixed, mesmerized, captivated, obsessed...go on.twitter.com/bangordailynew…
.. and -- we kid you not -- its own tribute song.
But until cops can figure out what kind of snake they're dealing with here -- a python? a boa constrictor? -- they're warning residents to keep a safe distance.
Slip sliding away
A resident first spotted the snake slithering past a children's playground in June.
A few days later, two officers spotted it eating its beaver/large mammal meal and then swim away across the river.
 |
| On 6-29-16 at about 0330 hours an Officer on patrol in the area of Riverbank Park observed a large snake on the riverbank in the area of Speirs Street. The snake was eating a large mammal, possibly a beaver (not joking). A second officer arrived and they both watched it swim across the river to the Brown Street side of the Presumpscot River where it disappeared in the thick underbrush. They estimated its length to be at least 10 feet. WPD contacted the Maine Warden Service and they expect that the snake will remain dormant for a few days because it just ate a substantial meal. The snake has been dubbed “Wessie” or the “Presumpscot Python” by locals. We ask the public to be mindful of the snake’s presence in the area and immediately report any sightings so we can remove the animal from the river.
They knew the snake would lay low for a couple of days. After all, it had eaten a substantial meal.
On Saturday, officials came across the snake skin in a park.
Around 3pm today, Saturday, August 20th, a citizen reported finding a shed snake skin, pictured in the attached photograph, along the Presumpscot River near the carry-in boat launch in the area of Riverbank Park.
Westbrook Police Officers responded, photographed, collected, and tagged the skin which will be examined in attempts to determine what type of snake shed it and what risks this type of snake poses to public safety.
Until the type of snake is determined and we can assess the safety risk, we caution people who recreate along the Presumpscot River to remain alert, maintain a safe distance from any wildlife, and report any sightings of the snake to the Westbrook Police Department.
The police department sent in a tissue sample and photos to a herpetologist to figure out what species the snake is.
"I'm not sure how long that process will take," Police Capt. Sean Lally said.
Source CNN
|
No comments:
Post a Comment