God has made us different, he made us so unique. We slither on the ground, we have no hands and feet. Though you find us scary, or maybe just plain weird, our intentions are not to hurt you or cause you such great fear. Our venom's not meant for humans but to help us when we eat. So, please stop the senseless killing before we're all extinct. We're not saying you have to love us or tell us we're the best. God's the one who created us. So, treat us with respect.
written by Sarah Clark for Southeastern Reptile Rescue
Fears are educated into us and can, if we wish, be educated out. -Karl A. Merringer
The snake is an animal. It has a backbone and a heart. It has red blood. It drinks water and eats food. It breathes air and feels fear just like every other animal in the world. And, it's in a body that's the hardest thing for the average person to understand. (author-unknown)
On Friday March 15, 2007 I was contacted by a gentleman and his wife who said that they had just left their house to go into town. They told me that as they crossed a bridge which spanned a small creek, they observed a very large snake that was several feet in length resting on the guard rail and that it had begun to crawl off the bridge toward the water. I asked if they could remain with the snake and keep an eye on it until I arrived and they said they would. Normally I would have said to leave the snake alone and let it crawl into the water but since he said it was as big around as a softball I thought I should investigate. As Sarah, Audrey and I headed to the bridge to meet the couple I kept thinking that this was probably just another rat snake about 3 or 4 feet long that someone was freaking out over. Most of the snake calls we go on are for snakes that are greatly over exaggerated in size. We arrived on scene and I began to get my snake catching gear from the truck as Sarah peered over the edge of the bridge to where the caller was pointing. Sarah then called to me and said "Jason, I don't think your snake hook can handle this one. He's really big!" As I walked below the bridge I saw it. It was a burmese python. A very large python I might add. I approached the snake which began to hiss at me a little but made no other aggressive advances so I picked it up and placed it in the back seat with Audrey and it neatly coiled up around her car seat. Just kidding! I actually stuffed it into a pillow case and then took the snake to a local vets office where the snake measured 11' 2 1/2" and weighed 43.5 pounds. Obviously this snake either escaped from its cage or was deliberately released by the owner. Either way, he is now safe and secure at Southeastern Reptile Rescue.
