The Largest Snake in the World Has Invaded the United States

[n2doc]

By Jackson Landers



On a muggy day about 10 years ago in the Florida Everglades, Jack Shealy was riding his bike along a dirt road leading into the Trail Lakes Campground, where he has worked for decades. Like any good gladesman, Shealy has a substantial portion of his brain wired to recognize snakes in places where the rest of us would see only leaves and shadows. He skidded to a stop at the sight of a serpentine form stretched out in the sun.

This particular snake was not especially large—only about a meter in length. Yet the color was something different. Greenish brown with dark, oval spots. This was not a snake that belonged in the Everglades. Shealy did something that comes naturally to the family. (His nephew Jack M. Shealy recently became notorious for jumping into the water to wrestle an invasive Burmese python.) He jumped off of the bike and captured the angry snake by hand.

Trail Lakes Campground just happened to have a herpetologist on staff. Rick Scholle, who runs the campground’s roadside zoo, examined the snake and realized that he was looking at a juvenile green anaconda. A nonvenomous constrictor native to South America, the green anaconda is the biggest, heaviest species of snake in the world. It definitely does not belong in the Florida Everglades.

I met Shealy and Scholle while I was on an expedition in February to hunt invasive Burmese pythons in the Everglades. The Burmese pythons have become a well-publicized problem, but once I got down there and started spending time with the fishermen, bikers, reformed gator poachers, tour guides, smugglers, and biologists who inhabit the sparsely populated southern Glades, I found that the situation wasn’t everything it was made out to be on the evening news. The pythons were less of a problem than the media had made them out to be. And many other invasive species were crawling around without receiving nearly as much attention.

more

http://www.slate.com/blogs/wild_things/2013/11/15/green_anacondas_in_the_everglades_the_largest_snake_in_the_world_has_invaded.html

[gopiscrap]

1. how did it get there?

[Brother Buzz]

3. The same way the mythical alligators made it to the NY city sewers

People.

[gopiscrap]

5. ah this sounded legit

[Brother Buzz]

7. It is a legit story

and I say someone released the snake, it didn't swim there.

[n2doc]

12. Of course people released them

Just like all the other invasive species there. They didn't ride a downed tree up from South America!

[Brother Buzz]

15. Yes, but we have an tiny invasive clam in the San Francisco bay...

that hitchhiked to 'Baghdad by the Bay' in the bilge of a ship.

[MicaelS]

19. It is legit.

Invasive species in the US are here in many instances because humans buy an exotic animal, then it get's too big, or too whatever and they dump it in the wild.

Just read the list of invasive species in the Everglades, not just animals, but plants and fish.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_invasive_species_in_the_Everglades

[KurtNYC]

17. On a Plane!

(of course)

[TexasProgresive]

24. Harry Potter released it

but the snake was confused and swam to Florida instead of Brazil.

I know this is a serious problem. Whoever thought it was OK to let people keep non-native snakes and other species as pets was not very smart about human nature.

[MynameisBlarney]

25. There was a herpetology research center

in the Everglades that was destroyed by hurricane Andrew. And idiots that think they're great pets until they eat the family dog.

[JHB]

38. Hitchhiked

The tough part was trying to get a ride without having a thumb.

[Xyzse]

2. Seriously? How many more reasons do I now have NOT to go to FL.

... Oie.

[RebelOne]

20. You would have nothing to worry about unless you visit the Everglades.

Alligators are another story. I lived in Miami Springs most of my life. Across from my mother's house was a canal. One night my brother found one about 5 feet long in the middle of the road. He put in the trunk of his car, drove it to the police station and dropped it off.

[Xyzse]

21. Wow...

Sure, reptiles fulfill an essential role in the eco-system. I just don't want them near me.

[Scootaloo]

29. Strictly speaking...

Alligators are archosaurs. Which means that they're more related to every bird, than to any other reptile.

"Reptilia" is in fact a really bad clade, because it clumps together a bunch of animals that aren't especially related, while excluding some that are
- Turtles and tortioses
- Tuatara
- Snakes, lizards, and mosasaurs
- Archosaurs, except for birds (group includes crocodilians, dinosaurs, and pterosaurs as well as birds)
- Synapsids, except for mammals (perhaps understandable, as mammals are hte only extant synapsids)

[Xyzse]

30. I see.

They are still considered Reptiles. Though you are right.

Any how... I still rather not have them near me. I am a live and let live kind of guy, and I tend to avoid them.

[Scootaloo]

31. It's not that hard to avoid alligators

Biggest worry would be pets getting eaten by 'em. of course, if you let your cat or dog roam around, I have more sympathy for a hungry crocodilian than for your irresponsible pet-owner ass.

"You" in the general, not personal sense, of course

[Xyzse]

34. I understand

Still, like I mentioned in another reply, I am mostly replying tongue in cheek, referencing all the crazy things that happen in Florida.

[NCTraveler]

32. An amazing ecosystem full of beauty is a reason for you to not go to a state.

Unreal. I hear many states have bears and big cats. Watch out.

[Xyzse]

33. Actually, I was mostly being tongue in cheek

Referencing all the crazy things that happen in Florida.

From the man eating someone's face, to uhhh...
Well, I might as well just give you links:
http://crazyflorida.tumblr.com/
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/florida/features/2013/oh_florida/what_makes_florida_weird_weather_people_tourists_foliage_greed.html

[NCTraveler]

36. Same could be said for any state. nt.

[The Straight Story]

4. It's just doing the job snakes here don't want to do

[closeupready]

18. LOL - damn lazy American snakes!

[nilram]

37. Clearly, we have to build a fence to keep them out!

[snooper2]

6. I guess I'm the only one who had visions of Dirk Diggler when I read the title

LOL

[monmouth3]

8. Rick Scott is known to be the second biggest snake in Florida. Just sayin'....n/t

[polichick]

9. Ha! So true.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

10. Seeing the title, I immediately thought of Chris Christie

[dragonlady]

14. Scott Walker

He even looks the part.

[geek tragedy]

11. There should be plenty of things that eat little anacondas though.

Little non-venomous snakes are pretty defensely against raccoons, otters, etc I would think.

[longship]

22. Titanoboa?

Titanoboa (great name, BTW).

Largest snake that ever lived -- that we know about.

Of course, we all know why the anacondas are there.

The Evergrades had a mouse problem, an invasive species that was decimating the native flora. So the state of Florida released house cats into the Everglades to get rid of the insidious mice. But then, the cats began eating all the native water fowl. So they brought in feral dogs the get rid of the cats. The dogs were devastating to indigenous weasels, so they brought in pythons to get rid of the dogs. Now the pythons are a huge problem, so they've brought in anacondas to get rid of the pythons.

The latest in this story is to get rid of the anacondas they'll have to import elephants. But they also do huge environmental damage. Fortunately, the solution is simple. Import mice to scare off the elephants.

Problem solved.

[AZ Mike]

13. I clicked on this thread....

....thinking this was about Ted Cruz.

Sorry.

*backsoutslowly*

[calimary]

16. But you'd actually be partially correct.

Because that bastard IS the largest snake in the world. Present-day version. I'm sure his title will be taken by someone else, soon.

[ErikJ]

23. Costa Rica made it illegal to own wild animal pets. We need that here.

[dbackjon]

27. Agreed!

[dbackjon]

26. Not a good article

The Pythons ARE decimating a large number of species in the Everglades.


This guy sounds like a "no global Warming" type of clown.

[Arugula Latte]

28. Well, look on the bright side ...

In a few years the polar ice caps will melt and Florida will be underwater. *Poof* -- no more snake problem (except maybe for water moccasins).

[xfundy]

35. I was expecting another Cheney thread.