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WJXX (Jacksonville, Florida) 23 January 08 Giant Snake Slithers into Alligator Territory in St. Augustine (Jessica Clark)
St. Augustine, FL: An extremely large reticulated python just arrived at the Alligator Farm in St. Augustine.
Crews, believing she may be one of the biggest snakes in captivity, measured her in an open field at the Alligator Farm Wednesday.
Villagers in Indonesia found the massive snake.
They contacted Brady Barr from National Geographic.
He talked to his colleagues at the Alligator Farm and he arranged for the big snake to be sent to St. Augustine.
It took seven people to hold the snake as she squirmed in their arms.
First, they tried to place her in a long plastic tube with measurements on the side.
But you can’t tell a snake what to do. Within minutes, the python turned herself around inside the tube.
So the zookeepers and Brady turned to Plan B.
Brady placed a rope along her back, from nose to tail.
He then measured the rope with a measuring tape.
The total length came to 21 feet 9 inches.
Barr said, “That’s a monster!”
As the crowd that had gathered began to applaud and whistle, Brady took the opportunity to teach and brag about the Alligator Farm.
Brady said, “There aren’t many snakes in captivity this big. This is a really spectacular specimen. It came from the island of Sulawesi which is known to have the biggest snakes on the planet.”
“There are a lot of places that claim to have a 20-foot snake,” Brady said and then began to shake his finger, “but they’ll never measure them with cameras rolling. You’ve got to hand it to the Alligator Farm for doing this!”
The snake will be on display later this year at the Alligator Farm.
Giant Snake Slithers into Alligator Territory in St. Augustine
