2

5/22/2008 8:26:11 AM

as soon as i heard about this I told my room mate it was a coachwhip. I'm from cumberland county and used to catch them all the time, they have a tendency to sit with their head up off the ground to spot danger, etc. like a cobra rearing up and i've seen some big ones.

I've caught A LOT of snakes in wake county (my grad research is actually looking at urban snake populations in raleigh and cary) and I've never seen a cottonmouth here. i routinely get told by people out on the greenways that they see them, but all I find are banded and northern watersnakes that people confuse them with.

5/22/2008 3:00:35 PM

my new neighbor thats from cumberland county said some guy confessed that it was his snake like 2 days ago...said it was some guy that had a bunch of exotic shit

5/22/2008 3:09:19 PM

wait, he confessed to what exactly? that he had a k.cobra, or a different snake that escaped?

5/22/2008 3:15:34 PM

i guess a king cobra...i was told it stood up 4 feet high not 5 feet and was 9 feet total...he just said the guy had a lot of exotic animals that no one knew about and confessed that it was his snake that got out

5/22/2008 3:17:04 PM

So now we need one of the television snake hunters make a special Cumberland Co episode, exotic animals gone wild.

5/22/2008 3:22:23 PM

Someone mentioned Black Mamba last page. I've had a close encounter with a Black mamba.

When I went to Africa, we were going into our stand and the native jumped down really fast when he was going up first and said a lot of stuff I didn't understand until he said "mamba". They opened the door to the stand and put us on the top of the truck. The PH (professional hunter) shot a 8 in long snake with a high powered rifle (one hell of a shot if I might add) and there were pieces of it all over the stand. needless to say, we didn't sit in that stand.

5/23/2008 10:25:04 AM

Did you know the Black Mamba strikes with 99% accuracy?

5/23/2008 10:31:33 AM

What the hell? Why would you shoot an eight-inch long snake with a rifle? That's one of the craziest things I've ever heard.

5/23/2008 10:35:42 AM

yeah I'm wondering that too.

5/23/2008 12:14:32 PM

^^ bc you don't screw around with a black mamba, and it doesn't matter how big it is

5/23/2008 12:28:22 PM

Quote :

""The mamba can strike with 99% accuracy at maximum speed, in rapid succession. ""

They didn't use a big enough gun.

5/23/2008 12:59:18 PM

They should've nuked the site from orbit.

It's the only way to be sure.

5/23/2008 1:32:21 PM

Quote :

""I caught something out of my eye, and this snake comes up beside me and looked at me,""

The snake looked at you?

5/23/2008 1:44:13 PM

Quote :

"bc you don't screw around with a black mamba, and it doesn't matter how big it is"

Steve Irwin has demonstrated conclusively that you can, in fact, screw around with a black mamba.

5/23/2008 5:26:44 PM

Quote :

"Two cobras might be on the loose in Onslow County, authorities said, adding that they believe the snakes might have been dumped by an animal rights group pushing for a ban on exotic animals."

http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/2934524/

as if one wasn't enough...

5/23/2008 5:29:41 PM

/message_topic.aspx?topic=505672


BITCH I MIGHT BE

5/23/2008 5:34:25 PM

Looks as if cobras will be running NC within a few years.

5/23/2008 8:56:15 PM

5/23/2008 10:59:42 PM

Well the second two could be as a result of the "cobra" story in cumberland county. You see that according to WRAL it might be dumbass activists trying to get the protection of inherently dangerous animals bill passed. They probably go the idea from the stupid WRAL story. Of course it could also be more of WRAL's shoddy reporting. If you want to get bad information or only part of the story you can count on WRAL or the N&O.

5/24/2008 7:49:32 AM

5/24/2008 8:12:01 AM

Quote :

"Steve Irwin has demonstrated conclusively that you can, in fact, screw around with a black mamba."

just like the stingray eh?

i'm not messing with a black mamba, feel free to do as you please

5/24/2008 1:00:07 PM

Quote :

"just like the stingray eh?"

No, emphatically not like the stingray. He survived one and not the other. In any case, there's little reason to kill venomous stakes. Just leave them alone and they won't bother you.

[Edited on May 24, 2008 at 1:26 PM. Reason : any]

5/24/2008 1:26:25 PM

^ For the most part, I agree with you. The Black Mamba, however, is a particularly aggressive snake.

I recall seeing a TV program some years ago (on Discovery, I think) about a South African man who was doing nothing more than fishing and was chased down a path and bitten by a Black Mamba--luckily, he survived. In any event, we can't ask the young man below whether he merely startled the snake or not--because he's dead:

Black mamba bite kills Briton who dreamt of becoming a game ranger

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article3529594.ece

http://animal.discovery.com/fansites/wildkingdom/windows-media/black-mamba.html

[Edited on May 24, 2008 at 2:21 PM. Reason : .]

5/24/2008 2:16:15 PM

As I've also read stories about friendly encounters with black mambas, I suspect their behavior depends on a wide range of factors. The same would be true for all snakes. I don't believe black mambas actually kill that many humans per year. Anyone have figures?

I still say shooting an eight-inch snake with a high-power rifle is about the craziest story I've heard. Of course, it's merely an absurd extension of the way folks normally deal with venomous snakes. Oh yes, that copperhead's so dangerous that you killed it with a shovel at virtually no risk. Come on. That's not dangerous. Other people are dangerous. Snakes have no chance against humans.

5/24/2008 5:57:03 PM

I'm not for going around and killing snakes, but I have nothing against someone with kids killing a snake in or near their backyard.

You don't kill a snake because it might bite you at that particular time. You kill a snake because if its around your property, there's a good possibility it lives near your property and at some point you might chase a soccer ball or something into the bushes or nearby woods and might get bit. So you're just eliminating a future risk.

I think its a responsible action by a parent (although there are other instances where killing a snake is not warranted...I believe it is in that case and similar cases).

5/24/2008 6:52:43 PM

^ no snake in wake county has a bite that is going to kill someone (in fact our only venomous is the copperhead anyways) so no, people should not kill snakes to avoid "future" risks. if thats the case you should get rid of your car too, cuz thats a risk of a future car accident. and get rid of that soccer ball, because little timmy runs the risk of hurting himself playing in the future. etc, etc.

the moral, just leave the snakes alone.

5/24/2008 8:55:56 PM

The loose cobras in Onslow County were seen like a mile from my house. I'm scared to take my poodle out now.

5/24/2008 9:08:24 PM

5/24/2008 9:34:43 PM

^^^ what about a snake that was able to kill a pet in the yard or somthing like that...

5/24/2008 11:01:32 PM

That is one ugly shoe.

5/24/2008 11:18:53 PM

Quote :

"no snake in wake county has a bite that is going to kill someone (in fact our only venomous is the copperhead anyways) so no, people should not kill snakes to avoid "future" risks. if thats the case you should get rid of your car too, cuz thats a risk of a future car accident. and get rid of that soccer ball, because little timmy runs the risk of hurting himself playing in the future. etc, etc. "

Retarded analogies there. Good job.

5/24/2008 11:23:57 PM

^ you're at a much greater risk of getting in a car accident, or being injured while playing sports than you are being bitten by a venomous snake

5/24/2008 11:37:05 PM

Quote :

"They should've nuked the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."

lmfao

5/25/2008 1:48:09 AM

You should also be killing any cats and dogs in your yard because they are far more dangerous than snakes. Being afraid of snakes is incredibly stupid. Maybe it has religious roots as do a lot of other stupid things humans do? Australians have a much better attitude towards snakes in general and their "dangerous" snakes make ours look like earthworms. Maybe they have realized how very little danger snakes actually pose to humans. Oh and a high powered rifle for an eight inch snake (which is smaller than their hatching size btw) is dumb on so many levels. If he really wanted to kill it he could have just walked up and stepped on it. I love the drama that comes with any of these dumbass snake tales.

[Edited on May 25, 2008 at 8:03 PM. Reason : furthermore]

[Edited on May 25, 2008 at 8:08 PM. Reason : adfasdf]

5/25/2008 8:00:18 PM

anything that can bite me and immediately start to shut down my nervous system will be shot on point. GoldenViper you can retort all you like but that's my feeling on it. play with them all you want, i for one won't risk it.

5/25/2008 8:49:37 PM

What he^ said.

5/25/2008 9:20:54 PM

Of course the guys with names like GoldenViper and adder are gonna be irrationally defensive of killer snakes in their back yards. Everyone else is gonna look for a shotgun or a shovel.

5/25/2008 9:34:48 PM

Well the copperhead will not shut down your nervous system so... and if you want to talk about irrational arguments we have presented the reality of how unlikely you are to be bitten or harmed by a snake in your lifetime but you still present this stupid idea that snakes are out to get you and you need to kill them. hmmmmmm

5/25/2008 9:59:54 PM

^im gonna agree w/ you on the fact that, yea as adults in the backyard or somthing were probably not gonna get bit....but you have to think about if you have any kids that play in that backyard, or if you have a family pet that stays in the back-yard...then yea you KILL THE FUCKING SNAKE

5/25/2008 10:17:55 PM

^^ i'm talking about the mamba. copperheads will still mess you up if they decide they want to.

[Edited on May 25, 2008 at 11:24 PM. Reason : ]

5/25/2008 11:23:28 PM

Are black mambas so terribly deadly in practice? If so, give me some death figures. Australia, for example, has plenty of snakes with potent venom that kill few people. The only numbers I've seen were quite low. For example, consider this:

Quote :

"An analysis of the 40 snakebite deaths in Australia over 27 years (0,13 per million people per year, you Aussie storytellers) shows that about half resulted from people stepping on snakes, frequently bare-footed, drunk, or both. Another third were people who were handling or trying to kill snakes. Less than 10% were considered accidents “unavoidable with normal awareness”. The causes of snakebites in southern Africa would be proportionally very similar, so the moral is very simple: leave them alone and they’ll leave you alone. Most dangerous snakebites here result from people stepping on Puff Adders (Bitis arietans) which rely on stillness and camouflage for defence. The absolute first priority with any snakebite is to get the victim to a hospital as fast as possible; if you get there alive the odds are you’ll stay that way. Of course, if you do get bitten by a black mamba and if you receive a full dose of venom you may have a problem. In extreme cases death can result in an hour from respiratory or cardiac arrest, but if you can keep the pulse and breathing going until you get to hospital you should make it. Anti-venom should generally only be administered at a hospital; many people have a serious reaction to the serum and unless you have the facilities to deal with anaphylactic shock it may be more dangerous than the snakebite. To put this all in perspective however, statistically you have less chance of dying from a snakebite in southern Africa than from being struck by lightning."

http://www.witness.co.za/?showcontent&global%5B_id%5D=1761

5/25/2008 11:41:13 PM

I'll say this one more time since you just don't get it. I'm not screwing with a black mamba. Do with them as you please.

[Edited on May 25, 2008 at 11:44 PM. Reason : ]

5/25/2008 11:43:43 PM

I'm just trying to show which position is irrational.

5/25/2008 11:46:16 PM

and as far as children are concerned you are better off killing your family pet because it presents a greater danger to children than a copperhead.

5/25/2008 11:49:31 PM

^unless your "family pet" is a mike vick pitbull, then I highly doubt it presents more of a danger to a child than a fuckin copperhead

5/25/2008 11:55:30 PM

^^^

5/25/2008 11:59:47 PM

Depends on the pet. Dogs kill a few people per year. I don't believe I've ever read about a cat killing a child, though they can cause horrible wounds. Copperhead fatalities are similarly hard to come by. While such statistics can only tell you so much, there's no evidence that US venomous snakes pose a significant threat to anyone.

5/26/2008 12:03:07 AM

haha forget it

[Edited on May 26, 2008 at 12:10 AM. Reason : not worth it]

[Edited on May 26, 2008 at 12:13 AM. Reason : anyone know if anything was verified about the whole cobra thing]

5/26/2008 12:10:36 AM

How so? Do you have evidence that US snakes pose a greater risk than I've claimed? If you do, please provide it. Snake bites kill five to ten people per year in this country (see http://www.emedicinehealth.com/snakebite/article_em.htm. That's almost nothing. As I've shown, death rates are equivalently low in Australia and parts of Africa.

5/26/2008 12:16:19 AM