Tuesday, March 23

Reason to Be Leery of Florida???

















15 foot Eastern Diamondback rattlesnake, found in Jacksonville, FL. Largest ever caught on record.
After seeing this, someone did a little research, and learned the following:

One bite from a snake this large contains enough venom to kill over 40 full grown men.

The head alone is larger than the hand of a normal sized man.

This snake was probably alive when George H. W. Bush was President.

A bite from those fangs would equal being penetrated by two 1/4 inch screwdrivers.

A snake this size could easily swallow a 2 year-old child.

A snake this size has an approximately 5 and 1/2 foot accurate striking distance. (The distance for an average size Rattlesnake is about 2 feet)

Judging by the size of the snake, it is estimated to weigh over 170 pounds.

***

Concerning yesterday's post: I am happy to report that my friend had no trouble on the remainder of her travels. She did have to change planes in Atlanta, but she was met at the arrival gate with a wheelchair, and quickly whisked to her departure gate. She was met in FL by her sister and brother-in-law, so all was well. Thanks to all of you for your thoughtful comments. After reading them, I realized I hadn't made something clear. My friend does not use a wheelchair in her daily life, but the problem causing the lack of oxygen makes it hard for her to walk long distances, such as might be necessary in an airport. That is why she requested a wheelchair.

20 comments:

Betty said...

EEEEEEEEEUUUUUWWWWW! I won't sleep tonight. That's some snake.

Kay Dennison said...

I'm delighted to hear the rest of her trip was okay! I never travel without a cane with me -- something about airports is stressful and my bad leg acts up. Like your friend, most of the time I do just fine.

Buzzardbilly said...

That snake was probably alive when I was still living in Jacksonville because GHWB was pres then! And, here, I thought the gators were the worry! No. Snakes are really bad on the edges of Jax. Not surprising to find them in the city. That size: Incredible!

Special Note for Snake Haters: They hate a lot of vibrations. Daddy had to do electrical work in the basement of a school where diamondbacks had made a cozy home. There were a lot of them. Dad flipped. The guys on the crew said, "No biggie," and they got a huge boom box and laid it speaker side to the ground, opened one set of windows on the other side of the basement, and blasted heavy metal. Dad said he'd never seen snakes scurry to get away from anything like that.

Gilly said...

Aaaagh! You have snakes THAT big in the US??? In TOWNS???

I'll stop here, thanks! ;)

Tabor said...

I thought this was going to be about the pythons that are now invading Florida. Rattlesnakes are worse!!!

Mahala said...

There ain't no dang sense in something that creepy getting that big.

ANGEL ABBYGRACE said...

Just thought I'd chime in and let you know that was caught last year. I remember when it made the local news here in Jacksonville. Amazing that it was living in a residential neighborhood.

Arkansas Patti said...

I don't know how I missed yesterdays post but am glad I did for I got the rest of the story and could relax all in one sitting. What an incredible woman to tackle such a trip with such limitations. That is pure backbone. Bless you for going the extra mile for a friend. I was impressed with the extra pains the security took. I really don't begrudge any of the methods today.
So glad for the happy ending.

Joy Des Jardins said...

Oh good lord that snake scares the stuffing out of me...I HATE SNAKES! He's the reason a lot of people have nightmares...so glad they caught him...YIKES!

And...I'm glad your friend's trip went well. ~Joy

robin andrea said...

That is one big and very scary looking critter. I like wildlife, but I wouldn't want to cross paths with that snake.

MaR said...

I agree with Betty (first comment!!!)
Glad your friend arrived safely.

colleen said...

That's worst than alligators in the toilet. I can only imagine what it would be like to come across that!

OldLady Of The Hills said...

What a scary SCARY snake that is....! I sure would not want to run into him...! I cannot get ver that his Head is as big as a Man's Hand...!

Glad to read that the rest of your friends trip went so well....! Thank God for the good things that haooen when traveling...!

srp said...

Not that I was planning to go to Florida but... that is some snake. It certainly could be milked for the venom and be used to produce more anti-venom than the normal sized rattlesnake. But not out in the open.

Unknown said...

That article is full of lies. First, the snake was 6'10", less than half the size in the article. It was found last October. The weight is less than 20lbs, probably a great deal less ... no need to be overly scared, these animals live as one species or another in almost every state in the U.S., and almost everything you think you know about them is false.

Jo said...

Jimminy...! How did that snake get to be so big? Is it cross-breeding with the pythons that are living there now?

And you can see by the photograph that the snake is a lot longer than 6'10". If the man in the photograph is of average height, say, 5'10", that snake is a good 15 feet.

Pat said...

No doubt about it - those are big 'uns.

Granny Annie said...

Please tell me that is a photo shopped picture and that there is not really a rattle snake that big in this world!

lIndsey Petersen said...

Oh, my goodness!!!!! That's definitely the biggest rattlesnake I've ever seen, and to think it is in Florida...when I used to live there we were afraid of scorpions crawling on the floor. Can you imagine seeing THIS crawling on our floor?
Lindsey Petersen

Anonymous said...

I esp. like the snake reference with Bush. :)