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TIMES-UNION (Jacksonville, Florida) 03 October 09 Massive snake is not largest on record
Brandon Booth didn't think a whole lot about the 7-foot-3-inch rattlesnake he came across near his house.
A resident at Tuscany Village Townhomes in St. Augustine Shores called Booth, who owns St. Augustine-based A-1 Trapper Man, last Sunday to come get the snake from near the entrance to the development.
"Actually, I've killed them bigger than that before," he said. "It's rare, (but) it's not like hitting the lottery or anything. If you look hard enough, you'll find them."
St. Johns County deputies were also called to the scene, and they photographed the snake, an eastern diamondback rattler.
Their photos were published in The St. Augustine Record on Wednesday and made it appear longer than the 7 feet 3 inches that Booth measured it at.
The largest eastern diamondback recorded is 8 feet long.
But Joy Hill, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said, "Seven foot, 3 is still a formidable rattlesnake."
Actually, rattlesnakes that size used to be commonplace, Hill said.
But in an era of strip malls and urban sprawl, they are much less likely to live long enough to get that big - either because they're killed, like the snake was Sunday, or the prey they depend on was driven away by humans.
"It's another victim of development because a lot of people just don't like snakes," Hill said. "They sure don't want a rattlesnake around their house."
While he's a trapper and deals with snakes all the time, he's not a snake person.
"I was always brought up that the only good poisonous snake is a dead poisonous snake," he said.
Booth took the snake to Jacksonville on Wednesday and gave it to a man who runs a muffler shop and also makes things from snake skin.
He could have made $700 on it - $100 for each foot.
Instead, he traded it for future car repairs, well worth the hairy situation of actually removing and gigging the snake.
But there's a price he doesn't want to pay.
"I've been struck at a whole bunch of times," he said. "I've never been bitten - knock on wood, I won't be."
Massive snake is not largest on record

I thought EDB's were protected.
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2 tham radix
1 Chicago Tham s. semifasciatus
2 elaphe vulpina
1 gray tiger salamander
4 Aphonopelma hentzi
1 G rosea
1 Haplo minax
1 Brachy angustum
1 Brachy sabulosum
1 Brachy vagans
1 Cent. hentzi scorp

Unfortunately they're NOT protected but I think it's a crime to destroy a big old EDB like that one. It's a darn shame that the idiot actually seems proud of what he has done....
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Tom Crutchfield
www.tomcrutchfield.com

I've never even seen a diamondback that big. Why do people that hate snakes always get 'em living in their yards??

The video of the reporter holding the now frozan carcass showed a much smaller snake than they claimed. Looked to me to be between 4.5 and five feet. Actually pretty average for an adult Eastern Diamondback. Did anybody think to use a tape measure? The seven-foot-three was simply estimated/fabricated.

The descrepency in size was explained by the guy who gigged it. He professed that when snakes are frozen, their muscles contract and they're not as big as when they were alive. Wow! The snake was photographed as they always are, extended into the forground towards the camera. Seven-foot-three? Not even close.

Sad to see any eastern killed but most of all I hate the ignorance of the news media and the general redneckedness involved. I thought that $700 for the skin ($100 per foot)was a bit exagerated, too. LOL

Cheers,

Terry Vandeventer

I daresay that diamondbacks would be in MUCH deeper doo-doo than they already are if one could realize $100 buck a foot for them!
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

The Avalanche has already started-it is too late for the pebbles to vote....

THE RECORD (St. Augustine, Florida) 11 October 09 Recent snake kill called 'abusive' (Greg Lepera is a St. Augustine resident, a local herpetologist with 23 years experience in zoos, and a photographer specializing in natural history and conservation.)
It is with dismay that I respond to The Record's recent articles regarding the killing of a large rattlesnake. I've spoken to many friends upset by the front-page coverage of this event.
The snake in the article was gigged through the neck, then hoisted off the ground while still alive for photos. Its mouth was open and its tail was contorted in pain. This was a living, breathing, beautiful animal, an animal whose last moments were spent in agony. Such abusive behavior in a civilized society is shameful.
In the last 25 years, I have seen rattlesnakes in St. Johns County decline dramatically both in numbers and in average size. Some would argue that is a good thing, I strongly disagree. Rattlesnakes are top predators that maintain ecological balance. They deserve a place in our county and our state.
Each year in the United States, there are an estimated 8,000 to 12,000 bites from venomous snakes, 5-12 bites a year are fatal. Many bites occur while the victim is trying to capture or kill the snake, and many bites involve the use of alcohol by the victim. I fully understand and appreciate the dangers involved with venomous snakes.
I would like to compare the relative danger of snake bites with that of dog bites to create some perspective: There are 4.7 million dog bites in the U.S. each year, meaning that nearly two percent of the U.S. population is bitten each year. One out of six bites requires medical care. Dog bites are the fifth most common reason for children to visit the emergency room. Dog bites fatalities have almost doubled, from an average of 17 in the 1980s-1990s, to 33 fatalities in 2007, the last year for which statistics were available. The vast majority of biting dogs (77 percent) belong to the victim's family or a friend. Three dog breeds and their mixes, Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, and Presa Canarios, accounted for 74 percent of attacks in one study.
What would happen if a homeowner recognized a threat to his family when a neighbor's Pit Bull or German Shepherd wandered into his yard?
What if he were to stab it through the neck with a flounder gig, then hoist it aloft, still alive, kicking and whining, while the police observed? Would he be arrested for animal cruelty? Would he be vilified and face jail time like Michael Vick? Or would the local newspaper canonize him and give his business a boost with not one but two front page stories of his heroism?
It is time to abandon the outdated idea of human dominance over the environment. Living safely with snakes (or alligators, or cars, or horses, or lightning) takes only some common sense and a bit of knowledge. There are many options available to deal with a snake on your property, it is unfortunate that the wrong one was chosen in this case.
Recent snake kill called 'abusive'