I don't know how many people noticed the news yesterday regarding the discovery of a reticulated python measuring 48 feet 7 inches and weighing 984 pounds, or how many people thought much about it, but this is an amazing find. As a devotee of the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet and various nature shows on PBS, I know this snake blows away the conventional wisdom regarding how large these snakes, or any snakes, can become.
Doing a quick Google search, I find everywhere the claim that the reticulated python, considered to be the longest snake in the world, can grow to a length of up to 33 feet and weigh as much as 320 pounds. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the longest snake ever measured (another reticulated python) was discovered in 1912 and was 32 feet 10 inches long.
While the reticulated python of southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands holds the official record as the world's longest snake, the anaconda of South America weighs more, having a larger girth. In 1944 a 37.5 foot anaconda was shot and measured by a petroleum geologist in Columbia, but the snake disappeared and its size couldn't be verified. There are apocryphal tales of giant anacondas reaching up to 80 feet in length, but such claims are considered to be myth rather than fact. Skins of anacondas have been found for sale in South America that have measured more than 33 feet, but they were probably stretched to bring a higher price.
Some wildlife experts believe no anacondas approaching thirty feet exist in the wild anymore; that they've been hunted for trophies and for sale to zoos, and that prey is no longer plentiful enough to support snakes this size.
This reticulated python, though, is proof that the world still contains places so remote and unknown that wonders can be found. The story accompanying the snake is even more amazing. According to Reuters:
Darmanto found the reticulated python last year on Sumatra island, where it had been caught and kept in captivity by villagers.But it took months to get permission from the villagers, who revered the creature, to bring it to Java.
"It was seen as the ruler of the Kubu tribe. So, we had to go by the book and the tourism authorities had to ask for it," Darmanto said.
The Kubu tribe live in the jungles of southern Sumatra and shun encounters with the modern world.
The sad part of this story, of course, is that the python is now in captivity. I wish they'd take it back to the jungle and let it go. I hope the habitat is much larger than what we see of it in this picture. I hope it has lots of vegetation to approximate the snake's natural surroundings. I know it will be fed well (four or five dogs a month, according to the story), but will that make up for the loss of freedom? For once being the ruler of the Kubu tribe? I doubt it.
UPDATE: Not nearly as big as claimed. Not a record. Still a big snake, though.
NPR ran a program on Saturday (10th) saying the zookeeper had exaggerated the snake's length just a wee tad... a reporter measured it and found the snake to be just 21 feet long -- easily within the typical range for the pythons. The zookeeper was said to be "surprised" that the snake had somehow "shrunk." LOL!
Oh wow, what a bummer. Oh well, lol. I guess I'm not too surprised. I was expecting the snake to be "officially" measured and proven to be less than claimed. I half expected it to be within the 33-foot range. Still, to have exaggerated the length by so much surprises me. If the zoo wanted to claim to have the world's longest snake, they could have said it was 35 feet long, not 49. It makes me wonder what motivated them; it seems hard to imagine one could mistake 21 feet for 49.
Go check out the entry on www.snopes.com -- they've got the whole description of what went down, with details. It's in the "New" section.