Some Local Wildlife

Here's some of our local Florida wildlife. This was taken in St.Augustine outside a new subdivision. We're destroying their habitat.
It's an Eastern Diamondback Rattle Sanke. Normally, they grow to about 8 feet, and can really lay a hurtin' on you. This one was 15ft long. A record.
Of course, they killed it....Yes, Cops in Florida do wear shorts, they also take there cars home at night. When I used to jog, I'd scare up snakes once in a while. My heart rate would shoot up at least 50 points. In this pic, you can tell by the tail, it's still alive.
Notice how the snake pole is bending....This is not uncommon. I've seen many snakes around my house, laying on my front door sunning themselves, etc...I've never been bitten. They usually slitter away when they see you. They are not aggresive, but I wouldn't try to pet one....As Steve Irwin would say, Crikey, he's a beauty.....

P.S. I had to crop the photo to make it fit....

Wow, you dont get many of them to the pound, thats for sure!

Its a shame they killed it, it would have been good to relocate it back out of town.

When I was living in Oz I used to come across Eastern Browns and Taipans every now and then, and they were never that aggressive. As long as you gave them a wide berth and didnt harass them they'd ignore you. The spiders were much more aggressive!

Amazing pic though, thanks for sharing!

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Originally Posted by Stubear

Wow, you dont get many of them to the pound, thats for sure!

Its a shame they killed it, it would have been good to relocate it back out of town.

When I was living in Oz I used to come across Eastern Browns and Taipans every now and then, and they were never that aggressive. As long as you gave them a wide berth and didnt harass them they'd ignore you. The spiders were much more aggressive!

Amazing pic though, thanks for sharing!

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I assume they killed it, there are two more pics, I'd have to crop, but the snake looks lifeless in the last two...It's a shame, really...

The spiders in OZ, was it the Funnel Web?, I heard they're nasty, as is the Easter Brown. He's in the top 5, no?

I didnt see any Funnel Webs as they tend to be more NSW based and I was up in Brisbane. We used to get Redbacks though, and Golden Orb spiders. The Golden Orbs could be quite aggressive if you disturbed them accidentally. The Redbacks you just had to watch out for as they'd sneak into shoes and hats and stuff, and bite you if you put them on!

I think the Taipan is number one or number two on the snake list, and the Eastern Brown is about number 5 or something. I managed to run a brown over on my bike actually, but fortunately I was moving so fast I was gone before he could have a go at me..! He was sunning himself on a path on a hill, and I came along on my bike.

The Sydney Funnelweb is, I think, number one or two on the spiders list. I saw one in a display once, that some lunatic had caught, and they're not actually that big. Maybe 3" across I would say. But man it was aggressive, banging its fangs against the glass tank and rearing up on its legs.

it would truly be a shame if nobody saved the skin and the meat.
the skin would make some very nice boots and other things.
the meat would be quite tasty also..

15 feet is enormous. I have personally seen them that large in diameter and about 8 feet long. They are easy to notice because they let you know when you are near. Its a shame they killed it, but if some kid ran into it, it would either kill them with the bite or cause them to loose a limb depending on the location of the bite. I do not eat them, but I know many do. At worst, they could have put it in the JAX zoo because that would have to be the largest one seen to date.

coming upon that would definately call for a "feet don't fail me now" moment. I would rather hear they relocated it or zoo life to let him live a longer life.. but man thats huge !!! :dropjaw:

I think y'all know what I'd do with that guy.....


http://straightrazorpalace.com/attac...sed-side-1.jpg

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Originally Posted by Seraphim

I think y'all know what I'd do with that guy.....


http://straightrazorpalace.com/attac...sed-side-1.jpg

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VERY NICE!!! Okay, on second thought where did they drop that guy off? :)

yea he could not get to me he couldent get over the pile of brown i would leave in my path.

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Originally Posted by Stubear

they're not actually that big. Maybe 3" across I would say. But man it was aggressive, banging its fangs against the glass tank and rearing up on its legs.

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Only in Oz would 3" across be "not that big" for a famously venomous and highly agressive spider. Around here, my wife would be on the table screaming, I'd be on the chair next to her, screaming and shooting .45's at it.

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Originally Posted by treydampier

15 feet is enormous. ..... Its a shame they killed it, but if some kid ran into it, it would either kill them with the bite or cause them to loose a limb depending on the location of the bite.

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I thought 15 feet was outside the realm of possibility for an ED rattler. The amount of venom that would be injected would have a high liklihood of killing a child and many adults, I think! Regardless, the tissue damage would be horrific. However, I don't like to see animals killed just ebcause we are in their territory. It's not like there aren't places it could have been relocated to, though they are so plentiful in some areas that I'm sure the ecological cost/benefit isn't really there as far as the animal cotrol officers are concerned. But a zoo would make sense for such a beast!!!!



EDIT: AHA! Your own personal snopes service.....
http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news...ge_rattlesnake

Picutre look familiar? Seven foot three inches. 15 feet would be about twice as long as the previosuly recorded LARGEST EVER! Now, that is STILL a monstrous ED.

"Brandon Booth, the A-1 Trapper Man, told Action News he's seen snakes like that before. And he knows they're not something to mess around with. "They're venomous. So they can kill you or make you lose a limb." he said.

Booth killed the snake and gave it to a local man, who will use its skin to make sheaths for knives."

Hallettsville, Texas
About 70 miles east of us.
About 30 miles south of IH-10 between Sealy and Luling, about half way between San Antonio and Houston.

Good old Texas wildlife. :)