Posted by:
redhed
at Mon Jan 5 17:59:08 2004 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by redhed ]
Thanks for that link - I suspected this snake was short of 30 feet, since it was likely that if it truly was 30 feet, it seems the owners would have tried to claim the NYZS (WCI) $50,000 reward by now.
I read it, and found it pretty amusing that this guy is trying to measure the snake with a tape measure. Why does this still happen? We measured many, many green anacondas the most accurate (reliable) way possible - by using a piece of string, and winding it along the back, or "spine" of the snake, or more correctly along the invisible mid-line of the snake, one arms' stetch of string at a time, then measure the string. Do this at least three times, and take the average measurement of all 3 (or more than 3, especially if the snake is particularly wiggly at the time of measurement, which is not ideal, of course.)
This is the passive measurement, and involves no stretching or manipulation of the snake, and thus gets the most realistic measurement. Surprising how many "59" foot snakes shrink a lot with this method, maybe why it remains uncommon?
Renee
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RE: Measuring big snakes - redhed, Mon Jan 5 17:59:08 2004