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Authorities confirmed Tuesday that a snake skin found along the Presumpscot River in Westbrook, Maine, earlier this month came from an anaconda. One hundred percent, said Westbrook Police Captain Sean Lally, who had a portion of the skin DNA-tested by a herpetologist at a lab in Texas.
The skin, which was found Aug. 20 and was about 12 feet long, had further fueled speculation and rumors that a mysterious reptile was living along the stream near Riverbank Park, feasting on mammals. Since June, there have been several reported sightings of a large snake near the park. One witness claimed the creature had a head as big as a basketball, and a body as long as a truck.
It could be a hoax, I dont know. Its certainly interesting, Lally said of the results of the DNA test. But I dont know where you find a 10- or 12-foot anaconda skin.
Experts said the skin found by the river likely belongs to a juvenile green anaconda, the bigger of the species, thats roughly 8-to-9-feet long. Snake skin can be longer than the animals actual body once its shed.
Lally said various witness statements about snake sightings, including reports from two officers in his department and a public services employee for the city, seem consistent with the behavior of an anaconda.
Police plan to work with specialists to try and locate, capture, and possibly euthanize the snake, whether or not its an anaconda, according to a statement from the department that was posted on Facebook. Derek Yorks, a wildlife biologist for the states Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, said its illegal to own an anaconda in Maine. But he said its feasible someone may have kept one as a pet, and then released it into the wild when it grew to a massive size. Yorks said its also totally possible that someone in another state, or even in Maine, who has an anaconda illegally, could have brought the skin to Westbrook and placed it out in the woods along the Presumpscot River.
Placyk said the question still remains whether the skin was put there to mess with people as interest in Wessie has grown this summer. He said it seemed odd that the skin was so well intact, since anacondas are known to shed in smaller pieces that can rub off on nearby branches.
But if the snake is an anaconda, or other tropical or subtropical species, people wont need to worry about it for much longer. The winter will kill it, said Placyk. Once [temperatures] start floating around 50 for a sustained period, it will most likely die in short order.
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