World’s largest Snake: Finding & Caring for a Giant Reticulated Python (Bronx Zoo)

[bronxzoofrank]

Hi All,
While working at the Bronx Zoo, I had the once-in-a lifetime opportunity of helping to import and care for one of the largest snakes in captivity. While “largest snake” debates are ongoing, the massive Reticulated Python I came to know was awe-inspiring by any standard. Dubbed “Samantha”, she was captured as an adult in Borneo, and eventually reached 26 feet in length and 275 pounds in weight. The story of how she arrived in the USA involves a cash reward established by Theodore Roosevelt, the leather trade, animal dealers and other twists and turns.
Wanted: 30 Foot-Long-Snake

In 1910, Theodore Roosevelt, long involved with the Bronx Zoo, offered a reward to the first person who presented a snake of 30 feet in length; in time the reward grew to $50,000. In 1992, I and other Bronx Zoo staff heard rumors that a giant Reticulated Python that had been captured in Borneo. We did not get overly-excited… being well-seasoned, I automatically deducted 25-50% from the size of any “biggest snake-turtle-croc” stories that came my way. But then grainy photos arrived by mail, and the snake depicted was, if not the largest I’d seen, impressive. Whether by design or bad luck, the photos did not allow us to accurately gauge the animal’s length.
In those pre-internet days, it was difficult to correspond with the leather company that owned the snake, which was confined in a railroad car near Samarinda, Borneo. Then as now, importing large animals was fraught with difficulties. Therefore, we enlisted the help of a local leather company with ties in the region and a trusted animal importer.
Read article here World?s Largest Snake - Finding and Keeping a Giant Reticulated Python That Reptile Blog.
Comments and questions appreciated. As I do not place notices here each time I post a new article on That Reptile Blog, you may wish to check in periodically or subscribe; you can do so here That Reptile Blog. Please also check out my posts on Twitter Twitter.

Thanks, Frank
My Bio, with photos of animals I’ve been lucky enough to work with That Pet Place welcomes Zoologist/Herpetologist Frank Indiviglio to That Reptile Blog | That Reptile Blog That Reptile Blog
Face Book http://on.fb.me/KckP1m

[shaunyboy]

that was a very interesting read mate

we have a guy in the uk with a few big retics,i think his largest is just under 20ft,its an impressive example of the species

cheers shaun

[millertime89]

very cool story, thanks for sharing that.

[bronxzoofrank]

Originally Posted by shaunyboy

that was a very interesting read mate

we have a guy in the uk with a few big retics,i think his largest is just under 20ft,its an impressive example of the species

cheers shaun

Thanks for the kind words and info; are they commonly kept in the UK?

BTW, very impressed by the quote "Always judge a person..." , good choice, I've always felt that way, Best, Frank

[bronxzoofrank]

Originally Posted by millertime89

very cool story, thanks for sharing that.

My pleasure, Kyle, glad you enjoyed, Best, Frank

[cossiecraig]

Very interesting read Frank and something else i've learnt today ,greatly appreciate your time to share this story .

[bronxzoofrank]

Originally Posted by cossiecraig

Very interesting read Frank and something else i've learnt today ,greatly appreciate your time to share this story .

Thanks very much for the kind words, glad you enjoyed, will post more when possible, best, Frank

[lemon]

Originally Posted by shaunyboy

that was a very interesting read mate

we have a guy in the uk with a few big retics,i think his largest is just under 20ft,its an impressive example of the species

cheers shaun

I think I know the guy you speak of and his biggest is just short of 22ft and he has 3 others over 20ft and several between 18-20ft.

[lemon]

Originally Posted by bronxzoofrank

Hi All,
While working at the Bronx Zoo, I had the once-in-a lifetime opportunity of helping to import and care for one of the largest snakes in captivity. While “largest snake” debates are ongoing, the massive Reticulated Python I came to know was awe-inspiring by any standard. Dubbed “Samantha”, she was captured as an adult in Borneo, and eventually reached 26 feet in length and 275 pounds in weight. The story of how she arrived in the USA involves a cash reward established by Theodore Roosevelt, the leather trade, animal dealers and other twists and turns.
Wanted: 30 Foot-Long-Snake

In 1910, Theodore Roosevelt, long involved with the Bronx Zoo, offered a reward to the first person who presented a snake of 30 feet in length; in time the reward grew to $50,000. In 1992, I and other Bronx Zoo staff heard rumors that a giant Reticulated Python that had been captured in Borneo. We did not get overly-excited… being well-seasoned, I automatically deducted 25-50% from the size of any “biggest snake-turtle-croc” stories that came my way. But then grainy photos arrived by mail, and the snake depicted was, if not the largest I’d seen, impressive. Whether by design or bad luck, the photos did not allow us to accurately gauge the animal’s length.
In those pre-internet days, it was difficult to correspond with the leather company that owned the snake, which was confined in a railroad car near Samarinda, Borneo. Then as now, importing large animals was fraught with difficulties. Therefore, we enlisted the help of a local leather company with ties in the region and a trusted animal importer.
Read article here World?s Largest Snake - Finding and Keeping a Giant Reticulated Python That Reptile Blog.
Comments and questions appreciated. As I do not place notices here each time I post a new article on That Reptile Blog, you may wish to check in periodically or subscribe; you can do so here That Reptile Blog. Please also check out my posts on Twitter Twitter.

Thanks, Frank
My Bio, with photos of animals I’ve been lucky enough to work with That Pet Place welcomes Zoologist/Herpetologist Frank Indiviglio to That Reptile Blog | That Reptile Blog That Reptile Blog
Face Book http://on.fb.me/KckP1m

Hi,

Was Samantha actually measured? She doesn't look 26ft in the pictures. She looks a very big girl but appears a couple of feet short at around 22-23ft.

I've yet to be convinced of any snake proven over 25ft or even 23ft for that matter.

[millertime89]

Originally Posted by lemon

Hi,

Was Samantha actually measured? She doesn't look 26ft in the pictures. She looks a very big girl but appears a couple of feet short at around 22-23ft.

I've yet to be convinced of any snake proven over 25ft or even 23ft for that matter.

Lol, I thought as much but didn't want to say anything.

[bronxzoofrank]

Originally Posted by cossiecraig

Very interesting read Frank and something else i've learnt today ,greatly appreciate your time to share this story .

My pleasure, Best, Frank

[bronxzoofrank]

Originally Posted by lemon

I think I know the guy you speak of and his biggest is just short of 22ft and he has 3 others over 20ft and several between 18-20ft.

Thanks, Best, Frank

[bronxzoofrank]

Originally Posted by lemon

Hi,

Was Samantha actually measured? She doesn't look 26ft in the pictures. She looks a very big girl but appears a couple of feet short at around 22-23ft.

I've yet to be convinced of any snake proven over 25ft or even 23ft for that matter.

Hi...thanks for mentioning this - I should have noted that the photo is not of the snake when she has reached full size; but yes, I was on hand for all weights and measurements. When measuring wild anacondas, we always took 3 measurements, as we found that the nature of their musculature etc. allows for a good deal of contraction/expansion. Several snakes that we re-captures were inches shorter than when first encountered, others seemed to add far too much size given apparent age and time between captures. So we did this with the captive retic as well, but there is some room for error, even after 3 measurements.

There are well-documented cases of snakes over 23 feet; I've worked with several,

Still waiting for that 30 footer...best, Frank

[lemon]

Originally Posted by bronxzoofrank

Hi...thanks for mentioning this - I should have noted that the photo is not of the snake when she has reached full size; but yes, I was on hand for all weights and measurements. When measuring wild anacondas, we always took 3 measurements, as we found that the nature of their musculature etc. allows for a good deal of contraction/expansion. Several snakes that we re-captures were inches shorter than when first encountered, others seemed to add far too much size given apparent age and time between captures. So we did this with the captive retic as well, but there is some room for error, even after 3 measurements.

There are well-documented cases of snakes over 23 feet; I've worked with several,

Still waiting for that 30 footer...best, Frank

I think we have more chance of finding a t-rex than a 30ft snake lol :-)

A fellow snake keeper here in the uk saw Samantha and he agreed she was the longest snake he's ever seen, this was shortly before her death and he estimated her between 22-23ft.

I doubt muscle contractions would make a 3-4 foot difference.

You very lucky indeed if you have dealt with several snakes over 23 foot as the only one I've seen was on a documentary and even then the measurement of 23.5 foot didn't seem accurate.

It's the same with Fluffy being quoted at 24 foot when she was only 20 foot 1inch. To the general public they wouldn't know the difference between 20 and 24 foot but to snake keepers the size difference would be immense and hence a true 26 foot snake would be a sight to be hold.

I've seen no evidence of Samantha being massively bigger than any of the other giant snakes of modern time, 'Fragant flower' 'fluffy' the 'medusas' etc to name a few.

I for one would love Samantha to have been over 26 foot but I haven't seen any evidence of this unfortunately, as much as I never saw evidence that 'Baby the burmese' was over 27 foot nor the magical '33 foot retic that was shot nearly 100 years ago.

I have seen only retics around the 21-22 foot mark and these snakes really are the rarest of the rare. Samantha is definitley within good company with these snakes and may have been even a bit bigger..........but theres no way in the pictures I've seen nor the evidence provided by another fellow giant snake keeper in the uk that she's over 3 foot bigger than the likes of 'Fragant Flower'.

Also she was measured on a documentary at around 23 foot and she was already fullly grown by then.

I agree she was a 1 in a million snake and the biggest of the big but I think we'll be very very lucky to find a true snake over 25 foot never mind 30 foot.

All the best

Neil :-)

[lemon]

Originally Posted by millertime89

Lol, I thought as much but didn't want to say anything.

Yea lol.

I think she's one of if not the biggest snake of modern time. But to say she's greatly bigger then the likes of 'Fragant Flower' just isn't possible.