Don't hit your ball into the rough in Arizona

[CG6468]

18 foot long Western Diamondback Rattlesnake. Fangs that would feel like 1/8" screwdriver if it bit you. Enough poison to kill 40 humans.

Have fun golfing!

[DefiantSix]

Ya know, SciFi channel used to air horror movies about snakes that big.

Now the Science channel is airing DOCUMENTARIES about 'em...

By the way:

1> that's not a pic of a WESTERN DIAMONDBACK, the colors are all wrong and the pattern is more distinct than you'd find in that species (looks like a EASTERN DIAMONDBACK, to me); which leads me to

2> there is no St. John's county in Arizona.

[CG6468]

Ya know, SciFi channel used to air horror movies about snakes that big.

Now the Science channel is airing DOCUMENTARIES about 'em...

By the way:

1> that's not a pic of a WESTERN DIAMONDBACK, the colors are all wrong and the pattern is more distinct than you'd find in that species (looks like a EASTERN DIAMONDBACK, to me); which leads me to

2> there is no St. John's county in Arizona.

I got this in an email from a close friend in Arizona, and I trusted her since she generally checks things out before sending them. What about it occurring in Floriduh?

{{snip}}

St. Augustine, Florida: welcome to the discussion. One of my attentive readers from this city sent me this article about a giant dead eastern diamondback rattlesnake that was killed in Tuscany Village Townhomes. I was also provided the below photographs.

This newspaper article, and others like it, are a little different than some of the pictures that circulate online. They do not intend to deceive, they simply fall prey to what is apparently human nature: the tendency to exaggerate the size of snakes. When there is a picture involved it is sometimes difficult to determine the extent that camera tricks play a role in distorting the apparent size of dead snakes. However, in this case the rattlesnake is much closer to the camera than anything else appearing in the picture that it might be compared to for scale.

The resident who called police about the snake stated that it was six feet long. That would be a very big snake but not outside the realm of possibility. But when a spokesman from the police department saw the pictures suddenly it was estimated to be "at least 10 feet", potentially making it the largest rattlesnake in the world...by two feet!

Unfortunately, no measurements were taken (a familiar story) and the trapper that killed the snake disappeared without leaving his contact information. Perhaps we will eventually find out how big this snake was (if someone measures it) but until then it's just another big, old snake that was killed. Ten feet? No. Eight feet? Exceedingly unlikely would be an understatement.

Snake

[thundley4]

http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/15ftrattler.asp

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/s/StJohn-Rattlesnake.htm#.UfFm2419CSo

7' 3" in the stories at the links above.

[Wineslob]

They do not intend to deceive, they simply fall prey to what is apparently human nature: the tendency to exaggerate the size of snakes.

Did Weiner use this to his advantage?

[NHSparky]

Did Weiner use this to his advantage?

No, but Carlos Danger did.

[CG6468]

Well, at least I started a discussion! 

[vesta111]

Well, at least I started a discussion! 

Far as I know a hog will eat anything including humans.   I have heard the theory that hogs have little problem with Vipers as something about their arteries are too far into the flesh for the poison to circulate or some such.   

I have heard that the Dodo Birds were wiped out as they laid their eggs on the ground of the only island they lived on and the settlers brought hog with them that ate up all their eggs.

I do not think hogs would help Florida and their snake problems but I do know just having a couple hogs wandering around the barn yard in Tenn. I never saw or heard a one of them in a couple years, yet I had seen some big suckers as road kill with missing heads and tails, some one harvested them.