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.
The racial divide here is between Germans and Scandahoovians.
I’d hate to hit it with the mower. Hitting snakes and frogs takes the fun out of it.
The people in MA couldn’t even understand me.
I asked for a roll of frealin’ film and they had no clue what ‘film’ was.
[what *do* they call the stuff you put in cameras up there? celluloid? tintype? daguerreotype?]
Two weeks up the east coast beaches with my Agfa 120mm and not a shot taken.
Yankees.
LOLOL
You are SO lucky.
Not only do you have Alice Cooper, you have reptiles galore.
/green with envy
I’m not a “sir” but that was probably what got you the cold reception.
Sorry ‘bout that.
[and you’re still a Damnyankee to some of us]
;D
Ernst Stavro Blofeld.
Geeze...that’s a pretty lousy Bond character name.
Yes, my Rocket is MY cat, and Lucas Prince of Darkness is as well.
However, Shadow is definitely Hubby’s cat. She definitely seeks him out more than she does me.
Miss Hissy Slashy isn’t so picky as the others, LOL! She’ll take attention from anybody, and if it’s the both of us, she’s in Cat Heaven. You can hear the purrs in the next county.
After reading the title of this thread thought it was about a Democrat?
Yes, I don’t think that they could get an actor to play him more than once, LOL!
He was played by:
Anthony Dawson (uncredited)
Eric Pohlmann (voice, uncredited)
Donald Pleasence
Telly Savalas
Charles Gray
John Hollis (uncredited)
Robert Rietty (voice, uncredited)
Max von Sydow
Not only do you have Alice Cooper, you have reptiles galore.
/green with envy
Thanks... the racer is nonpoisonous - this is the one to watch.
When my wife went out to water the potted plants a few days ago -
Just kidding. (Still, you have good taste in music.)
I’m kidding too.
If a hillbilly ~isn’t~ torturing you, it means they don’t like you.
:)
My best buddy rides a ‘Wing.
[yet I still begrudgingly acknowledge his presence on earth]
;D
“So beautiful...and so deadly”
[oh, wait, that was the Black Widow]
Alice used to keep a Gila in glass coffee table display.
That’s even a bit weird for me.
“Lucas Prince of Darkness”
You’ve really gotta change that cat’s name.
I get a complex every time I see it...;]
You rang?
Speaking of the Wing, I have some errands to run and it’s a beautiful day, so I think I’ll conserve gas and boost my mental state at the same time.
(At least my Wing is old enough to still look kinda like a motorcycle. You can actually see the motor and everything!)
It has been many generations since Mr Ditters ancestors (and mine) were hill billies but that trait lingers on. If he doesn't like a person he doesn't even acknowledge that they are in the room. :D
Well, it’s almost 1 PM and it’ll be warmed up and on the move.
I wonder if the Python Hunters have managed to catch Snakezilla yet?
My wife is from the CA central valley so it didn’t bother her too much.
Half of our neighbors wives would have freaked out...:^)
We also have a Gila Monster on the other side of the pool but he doesn’t show himself often so I have no pics. We just don’t poke around under one of the yucca plants.
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