Here is a real bad news story that I took action against.

I contacted the reporter, Jungle John, and the police in this story. After the story you can read the emails. The emails contained ID photos as well as the photo of the snake in the story I hope they show up. For all purposed the snake is a black ratsnake.

Big snake on the loose near Newark
Exotic reptile could be escaped python or boa constrictor
By TERRI SANGINITI • The News Journal • September 24, 2009



Mari Jo Urban thought she had better alert neighbors after her kids spotted a big, black snake wrapped around the branches of a tree in her Scottfield Drive yard, near Newark.



Her 13-year-old son Tyler snapped a photo of the 8-to-10-foot snake Friday afternoon while she was at work.
Urban said the snake was gone by the time she got home, having slithered down the tree trunk, through the grass to the backyard, a neighbor said.

It wasn't until Saturday that she actually got a look at the photo her son had taken.

And she was astonished by the size of the snake.

"They said there was a blacksnake in the tree," Urban said, referring to her kids. "I saw the picture and I said, 'That's not a blacksnake!' "

Urban first tried to get the Kent County SPCA, the agency contracted for animal control for the area, to come and retrieve the reptile.

She sent them an e-mail photo of the snake, which they thought was a python or boa constrictor.

Animal control officers arrived Sunday but couldn't locate the runaway snake.

Next, Urban e-mailed the snake's photo to the Scottfield Civic Association to be distributed to residents in the area to warn them to keep an eye out for the snake, especially if they had small children or animals outside, she said.

As of Wednesday, the snake was still on the lam.

Police are recommending that anyone who sees the snake call 911.

"Obviously, this snake is not indigenous to Delaware, and it's impossible to predict how it would react -- especially around small children," county police Senior Cpl. Trinidad Navarro said. "It's no longer under the care of somebody who brought it here, so it's obviously hungry."

Jungle John LaMedica, who hosts educational reptile shows in the area, said it was difficult to identify the reptile from Urban's photo.

"If it is somebody's pet that escaped or [was] let loose by the owner I wouldn't be in fear of it," he said. "The colder weather at night is detrimental to an exotic snake."

At this point, the snake could be just about anywhere, LaMedica said.

"Pythons eat rodents and birds, but they don't eat kids," he said. "So don't get scared. You should be more afraid of strange dogs than the snake, because snakes can't outrun you."

LaMedica's advice: If you see the snake, leave it alone and call the authorities, and keep an eye on it until they arrive.

"Hopefully, the animal will be found and put indoors," he said.


Contact Terri Sanginiti at 324-2771 or tsanginiti@delawareonline.com.
The belly markings on this animal indicate a black ratsnake and the public educator did not know that. Why is he educating the public when he does not know anything. I grew up with these in the barn and they are not that rare so why is this such an uproar. This animal is probably more in the 6 or 7 foot rang not the 8-10. Contact this lady and tell her the truth and that you don't like fear tactic reporting. Bab reporting like this can damage the pet industry but also wild snake views and understanding setting back what good public educators are trying to do.

Email to reporter
The snake in your story is a common black ratsnake. They love barns and trees and eat mainly rodents and many farmers welcome them in their barns. The belly markings are standard for most all black ratsnaks and subspecies and the guy educating the public did not know this. The snake in the photo may be a thick animals but is more likely in the 6-7 foot range because these animals exceeding 7 foot is rare but does occur. This sloppy fear mongering type of reporting is not respected by people who appreciate gods creatures and nature on a whole.

Email from reporter to me
Since I wasn’t there when the picture was shot, I had to rely on other people for information.

I responded to the reporter and send the original photo with ID photos so she could see.
I have to appreciate your sources, but I hope this helps you for future reference. If an expert could not identify the animal I can see where you were left hanging. In the future if you send me a photo I can identify it for you if you like. You may want to email this to your expert so he can do his job better.

This is my nasty email to Jungle John
I just saw a news report about a snake photographed by a kid and you could not identify it. You said it was probably not native. There is a witch hunt for the snake and the snake is a native black ratsnake. Anyone in the reptile industry would recognize the pattern on the belly and you as an educator should have known and been able to say it is just a harmless rodent eating black ratsnake. You are no expert and you are a fool helping to increase fear in people when you could have averted such an event. I took it upon myself to send an email with ID photos to the reporter. Here are the photos so you can be educated and not a rediculous fool. I will see to it that I post your info and that you are a fool on all reptile forums of wich I am a member. My voice is loud and pet owners and wildlife caretakers will no longer set back and let the news and fools like you make a mochery of us or the animals we love as pets and in nature.

This is my emial to the police department
After reading a story about a snake on the loose, I noticed there seemed to be and uprise of fear that there was a large snake running loose. In reading the report I noticed that your advisor was of no use and said "It is probably not native". I wanted to let you know what you were dealing with and that you are in no harm. The snake was infact a native and wild common black ratsnake. The do get large (about 5-7 feet)and impressive but a bite is about a scratch and can be washed with water. Bites only happen if you mess with them and they do frequent barns and trees. These are a part of your habitat and there is no need to be afraid every time there is a snake. I wanted to send you the original photo with other photos for you to compare. I also own these animals as pets and used to catch large specimens when I was a young child proving they are of no harm. I hope this email can be shared with your department and to those involved calming them down and showing they need not fear. If I can help further please let me know. I have contacted the reporter and have sent a letter to Jungle John questioning his expertise.