Giant Snake Expert Questions Authenticity Of Morganza Snake Photo
Tuesday, May 17th, 2011
“Something isn’t right. A snake that size shouldn’t be that slender,” says Chris Brennan, resident expert on giant snakes for WeirdThings.
According to Brennan, the color scheme resembles an anaconda which has a wider head and heavier build. Furthermore, the tail shouldn’t taper off the way it does for an anaconda of that size and the width should be at least double what it looks to be in the photo.
Brennan is a former park ranger who along with his licensed trapper father has helped capture nuisance reptiles around South Florida for 20 years.
The color and shape of the beast looks like a juvenile rainbow python or carpet python, adds Brennan. Carpet python would be more realistic because they don’t have a distinctive pattern, for example spots.
If it’s not photoshopped it would have to be an arboreal species trying to find dry land. However, this is far larger than a native species of snake so if the picture is legit, Brennan says it’s likely the species was imported from elsewhere.
This is not to say that stories of bizarre animals becoming displaced by the opening of flood gates in Mississippi should be dismissed whole cloth.
“If they are not seeing insane animal migration it’s a miracle,” says Brennan.
“When encountering a giant species in a wild, it looks alien,” he added. “You can divide a length of what someone says they saw by half.
“Always remember kids, while giant species of snakes are dangerous they are just as scared of you as you are of them.”