Posted on 06/07/2012 11:58:28 PM PDT by Theoria
It's the talk of at least one part of Columbia and it all started Tuesday with a phone call from a concerned neighbor.
Heathwood resident Andrew Philson got a call about a snake in his backyard and thought he'd be finding a small garter or black snake, but got the shock of his life when he saw the beast slithering up one of his trees.
That snake has slithered his way into the national spotlight. First, WIS, then CNN, Fox, even the Drudge Report. Why? Well, it's a big snake and who knows how long it had been sneaking -- or snaking -- around in Philson's backyard?
One thing Philson does know, the darn thing was huge. "I'm saying 15 to 20 feet long," he said.
Philson lost track of the snake shortly after taking the pictures, which have now shown up on TV monitors and web sites all over the world. They've also led to some criticism from people including South Carolina Department of Natural Resources snake expert Steve Bennett.
Bennett says it's a rat snake, plain and simple -- a common and useful creature and one that as far as anyone knows, never gets anywhere close to the size claimed by Philson.
"What happens is when people see these things, they are so shocked and probably scared, it changes their whole way of thinking," Bennett said.
Philson does not seem like someone prone to panic, even in the presence of an oversized reptile. A former state trooper, Philson recently served a tour of military duty in Afghanistan.
"I know that when I testified in court in my previous job, that accuracy counts," Philson said.
"People who are otherwise fairly honest and you know, straightforward people, will see something like that and just automatically overestimate and exaggerate the size of it," Bennett said. "It's just human nature.
A wildlife removal company is planning to conduct an all-out search for the snake on Thursday.
“some Old World species do possess small amounts of venom (amounts so small as to be negligible to humans).”
Are we living anywhere “old world”?
Do you even *know* what “old world” means?
What a ditz.
Rat snakes are not Boidae or Pythonidae so your stupid YouTube “evidence” proves nothing...except that you are an uninformed, fear mongering histrionic.
[and I -still- remember your call to “kill all the dogs!!!” who were lost/abandoned during the aftermath of Katrina]
Soulless, wannabe dog killer ditz.
[yeah..there's some mild, borderline "ad hominem"...get over it]
“Well, fortunately, I have a busy life and didn’t have the time to look up a rat snakes diet”
I reckon it *does* take a lot of time to tend to 300 cats.
:)
Do you ever actually read the disjointed rantings you post?
And no, bless your simple heart, a rat snake would not eat a kitten.
[”Cat Snakes”, OTOH, are a fierce menace to all things feline]
“Secondly, anyone may reply to any post on a public message board.”
-You’re- not allowed to.
Now put down that keyboard before Disapproving You-Know-Who shows up.
;]
Thanks ever so much for giving me such wondrous things to look forward to.
:-P
Ugh!
Anybody here want a brand new, barely used, painfully cute and playful kitten?
[*before* it’s too late for my sofas?!?]
Aaaack!
Don’t worry - you’ll forget all about it when you see the hairballs.
No! Not him!
(Dangit; do I need to-—not-—bribe him with bacon already?)
:)
Tomcat sounds like a good cat. :-)
Cheese will do.
[preferably room temp]
:)
I think your natural reticence is inhibiting you from expressing your true opinion.
:-)
Good idea.
How’s Ren getting on with the dogs’
Actually, you’re right.
>:-)
My pride and joy.
Not so good.
I brought Gypsy the PPM in to meet him and her face went into total soft smile/mommy mode and she *so* wanted to mother that ‘new puppy’ and he just fluffed up at her.
It really hurt her feelings.
He hasn’t met the rest of the pack, yet.
I’m waiting until he’s big enough to jump up on the tall dresser, if necessary.
If they don’t ever make peace, it’s okay.
It’s a big house with doors between them.
The dude will abide.
:)
When I brought home a kitten, I would make a space the kitten could get to but the dog couldn’t (via a baby grate), and let them get used to each other through the grate. Took a day, max.
Did you have sight hounds who take any quick movements as a cue to run down and destroy?
It’s a bit trickier.
We’ll be fine, one way or the other.
:)
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