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HERALD TRIBUNE (Florida) 08 March 06 Rattler is shorter than advertised
Call it a fisherman's tale. That's what North Port Animal Control Officer Win Sell says now about an eastern diamondback rattlesnake pulled from a ditch in North Port.
Two weeks ago, Sell claimed the snake was close to 7 feet long.
But after measuring the reptile -- after it was frozen in Sell's freezer -- the snake turned out to be 6 feet 4.
"I was super embarrassed," Sell said. "This is a fish story."
Because of his embarrassment, he did not call the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville, which wanted Sell to donate the reptile for display if the claim proved true.
Instead, Sell is preserving the venomous snake's skin and will use it to help teach children.
The snake was still alive when Sell found it, but it is city policy to kill poisonous snakes that are found. Sell said he could not have measured the snake when it was alive because of the danger involved.
"He's not a record, but he's big and he's pretty," Sell said.
Rattler is shorter than advertised
