Early Sunday morning, Frances Hughes saw something strange
as she looked out her Deer Park kitchen window onto the driveway.
What she thought might have been an unraveled hose was a
snake measuring more than 8-feet-long.
She called 911 and Suffolk police quickly wrangled the large
snake into a garbage can. Police identified it as a boa constrictor, but snake
experts tell News 12 it’s something more dangerous.
“That's a Burmese python,” said Jennifer Coppola, of BTJ's
Jungle Pet Store.
Two other independent reptile experts confirmed to News 12
from pictures that it is a Burmese python – a non-native species to Long Island
that is illegal in New York State.
Its length allows it to pray on small animals, experts say.
Unsettling news for some neighbors who wondered who owned it, how did it get loose
and if there are any more.
“I have a little 10-pound dog and I am going to keep him in
the house for now,” said Paula Palumbo.
Hughes told News 12 that she knows most people on the block
and after the snake was captured she went around knocking on doors to see if
any one owned it.
“I don't think anyone is going to claim it if you are not
allowed to have it,” she said.
Suffolk police transferred the snake to the Veterinary
Medical Center of Long Island in West Islip where it is now being taken care of.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
has also been alerted to the discovery of the snake for possible investigation.