Ignorance is Far from Bliss

My Dad was recently forwarded an email about a snake found on a golf course in Arizona. I was immediately curious to find out what the article was all about so my Dad gave me his iPhone and I was appalled when the file finished downloading. 

Here is a copy of that email:

----- Forwarded Message -----
Sent: Monday, August 13, 2012 5:56 PM
Subject: FW: Snake On The Golf Course:

...AND YOU THOUGHT FLORIDA GOLF WAS BAD?  ALL THEY DO THERE IS EAT GOLF BALLS!

Want to play golf in AZ? BEWARE HOLY COW - STAY OFF THE GOLF COURSE- THIS IS SCARY FOUND ON A GOLF COURSE IN Arizona This is why you shouldn't go looking for the golf balls hit 'Out of Bounds' in Arizona !!! THIS IS NOT A PYTHON! This is a 15 foot Western Diamondback rattlesnake - the largest ever caught on record,  This snake was found Near the St. Augustine outlet, in a new KB homes subdivision just south of Mesa Az. A little research revealed the following:  One bite from a snake of this sizewould contain enough venom to kill over 40 full grown men. The head of this snake alone is larger than the hand of a normal sized man. A bite from those fangs would be comparable to being stabbed by two curved, 1/4 inch diameter screwdrivers. The knife being used to draw out the fangs for the bottom picture has a blade around 6 inche long. This snake is estimated to have weighed over 170 pounds. (How much do you weigh?) Notice the girth of this snake as compared to the cop's leg in the first picture (and he is not a small man).  A snake of this size could easily swallow a 2 year-old child and dogs, pigs, etc).  A snake this size has an approximately 5 1/2 foot accurate striking distance. (The distance for an average size rattlesnake is about 2 feet . )  This snake has probably been alive since George Bush Sr. was President.  Now just ask yourself these questions:  What has this snake been feeding on and where are its offspring?

Anyone with any intuitive sense should immediately be skeptical. First of all, you can tell the pictures were taken in order to favor the snake's size. It is much closer to the camera than the people in the background, making it look much larger. Secondly, that is not even a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox). It is an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus). These two snakes are found on completely opposite ends of the country. The Eastern is found in the Southeast whereas the Western, uh, the West (sorry for the sarcasm). Westerns can range as far east as Arkansas but do not overlap with westerns. 

Now onto what really makes me angry. 

You wouldn't like me when I'm angry. 

The email claims that the snake was 15 feet long. The longest recorded Western Diamondback was 92.5 inches long (click here for Western Diamondback info) (7 feet 8.5 inches). In order for that snake to have reached 15 feet, it would have to DOUBLE the previous record-holding snake's length. According the American International Rattlesnake Museum, the longest recorded rattlesnake in history was 8 feet 1 inch in length (an Eastern Diamondback). 

Next, we see that the snake was "caught" in Arizona. As I have already said, it is clearly an Eastern Diamondback which are not found in Arizona. Here is a classic case of a copycat trying to spread their hidden agenda against snakes. Think it was a harmless forwarded email?  Why would anyone go through the trouble of forwarding an email that they knowingly understood as false unless they simply just hated snakes?

The rest of the email is pure malarkey as I am sure you have already figured out. The snake is definitely not 170 lbs, and in no way could it eat a 2 year old child, dogs or pigs. To answer the question posed at the end of email, I hope it is eating the person that started this email. And that's all I have to say about that. 

Now onto snakes that we should actually be worried about. 

Everyone knows that Burmese Pythons are loose in the Everglades. These snakes CAN reach lengths in excess of 15 feet, unlike the Diamondback rattlers and ARE capable of eating dogs and pigs. It is extremely unlikely that these snakes would get an opportunity to eat a child. If it does, that says more about the parents than it does the snake. 

Exhibit A. I mean, that's just asking for it. I wonder if they let him/her in with the lions too. 

Recently, the largest Burmese Python to be found in Florida was captured. It not only set a record for length (17.7 feet), but also for number of eggs (87). This python not only proves that these snakes are breeding, but also shows us how quickly they are capable of spreading. The article goes on to say that these larger pythons are surviving winters because they can retain heat more easily. For the full article, click here. Herpetologist Whit Gibbons formerly of the University of Georgia states that the snakes will probably be established as a part of Florida's nativa fauna in the next few decades.

You may be asking why these snakes are considered bad and why I am not trying to protect them as well as the rattlers. Well, you see there used to be this country called Burma (now Myanmar). These large pythons call this country home, hence the name Burmese Python (Python molurus). These snakes are not found in Florida naturally, making them an exotic species. Not only are they exotic, but they are also invasive. This means that they are spreading into areas where they weren't found when they were first introduced. Florida's habitat and climate is not all that different from Myanmar's or the rest of Southeast Asia. It is hot and humid and the temperature is fairly stable. It does get much cooler in Florida however, which is good for us. Pythons aren't used to an extended period of colder weather. Somehow, these pythons are managing to survive the colder months and continue reproducing. This is a problem. These snakes prey on basically anything. Anything includes birds, small to large mammals, other reptiles including alligators. Some biologists, including herpetologist J.D. Wilson at the University of Arkansas claim that the larger ones could even prey upon the endangered Florida Panther. 

With that being said, it is understandable why these snakes are not good in Florida. When an invasive species takes hold, it is almost certain that native flora and fauna will take a major blow that may include extinctions of native species. Well, I hope I have thoroughly enlightened you on the woes of snakes in the world for today.