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NC-Exotic snake may be loose
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by tigers9 on May 16, 2008
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Extremely interesting timing considering NC has been fighting AR exotic bills for a while
Z
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Published on Saturday, May 17, 2008
Exotic snake may be loose
By Nancy McCleary
Staff writer
Vernon Byrd said he isn’t sure just what type of snake he spotted Tuesday in the Cedar Creek community.
But he’s pretty sure about a few things: It was big. It was fast. And it wasn’t from these parts, as folks would say.
Byrd’s so sure it is something unique — and maybe dangerous — that he called the local game warden.
So sure that he called the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.
When he got no help from them, he called Freddie Mims. Mims is licensed by the state to do wildlife rescue.
Byrd says he can’t help but wonder whether the snake was a cobra — which definitely isn’t from these parts.
Byrd, a property caretaker, said he was making his rounds on an all-terrain vehicle when he spotted the snake.
“The snake came up beside me and looked at me,” Byrd said.
The snake reared up — in what Byrd said was a striking position — and was about shoulder-height. Then, he said, the snake dropped into a coil about 1 feet high and pushed itself toward a shrub-covered abandoned house.
He said it was fast.
“I’ve never seen a snake move like that,” Byrd said Friday morning. “You can’t move that fast.”
Byrd estimated that the snake was between 8 and 10 feet long but only about 3 inches in diameter.
The snaked had a grayish color with green markings, he said.
Mims said he and Paul Howard, the Hope Mills animal control officer, searched the area Thursday without success.
Byrd said he notified homeowners on Johnson Road, about 100 yards behind the area.
Ida Edge said she heard about the snake from her sister, who lives in the area. Folks are edgy, she said. Some have reported missing animals.
Edge said she called Cumberland County Animal Control. Officials there said they would send someone to look around.
She doesn’t know whether that happened.
No one has seen the snake since Tuesday.
Staff writer Nancy McCleary can be reached at mcclearyn@fayobserver.com or 486-3568.
http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=294217
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RE: NC-Exotic snake may be loose
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by Cro on May 17, 2008
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Will be interesting to see what turns up.
Could be something released by the AR folks for publicity.
However, that area is right next to Fort Bragg, and some military folks do keep exotic pets. Could be an pet anaconda that got loose, LOL.
What ever it turns out to be, it will not be 8 to 10 feet long, and it will not be 3 inches in diamater, and it will not be able to rear up sholder high. Cut the description in half, and you might be close to whatever snake was there, if the whole story is not just a total scam.
The way the person describes it crawling, and it's speed, is a bit interesting though. Snake folks will know what I am suggesting.
Best Regards JohnZ
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RE: NC-Exotic snake may be loose
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by Chris_Harper on May 17, 2008
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Good thing the newspaper is trusting a reliable source like "Vernon Byrd". You know those yokels.... I mean locals.... can be trusted when it comes to snake identification. A man in a hardware store once told me that a "snake on the river once reared up and spat green venom at him", and we don't even have cottonmouths.
I like that title "......MAY be loose". We aren't saying for sure, but it might be from another planet.
CH
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RE: NC-Exotic snake may be loose
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by pitbulllady on May 17, 2008
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The guy probably saw an Eastern Coachwhip, and in his panic(or his 50th retelling of the account...or his 50th beer, whichever came first)exaggerated the size(WHAT? Somebody exaggerating the length of a snake? NOOOO!)and got the color all wrong, too. Won't be the first time that's happened, but will all the news media's scare mongering about giant pythons invading much of the United States, it's easy to jump to the conclusion that a native snake is some deadly exotic species.
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RE: NC-Exotic snake may be loose
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by Crotalusssp on May 18, 2008
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Probably another very poor identification from a person scared of snakes to the extreme. I bet is was the highly dangerous blue/black racer!!! I had a BIG football coach at my school call everyone but the National Guard when a racer got in the locker room. He just new it was a rattlesnake. The guy actually got up and stood on the bench's. LOL I thought he was going to lose it all together when I picked it up and it proceeded to bite the hell out of me 2 or 3 times. I had to promise him I would take it miles away. I let it go 50 yards behind the school. LOL
Charles
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RE: NC-Exotic snake may be loose
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by MoccasinMan on May 18, 2008
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Sensational poppycock! Fortunately no one but us, and a few Fayetteville locals paid any attention to this story... including, to their credit, the local Sherriffs Dept.
Andrew
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RE: NC-Exotic snake may be loose
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by atwageman on May 18, 2008
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Nothing I like better than to hear a story from uncle Cletus or aunt Cleo about the 15 foot snake they saw. priceless.
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