Thursday, April 30, 2015

Possible python with five-gallon bucket-sized head spotted near Abbeville, Ala.

As if all you outdoorsmen in the reading audience didn’t have enough creepy crawlies to worry about while out in the woods, reports coming from the Chattahoochee River area this week tell of a possible Python that was spotted by an Abbeville man named Randy Sanders.

Sanders said he was walking with his grandkids along Kolomoki Creek, southeast of Ft. Gaines, Ga. when he saw what is believed to have been a Python between 10 to 15 feet in length.

Sanders, who was able to photograph the snake, said it had a head as large as a five-gallon bucket. Despite the photographic evidence, snake experts were still unable to positively identify the snake as a Python.

Auburn University Herpetology professor, Dr. Craig Guyer, told reporters that the winters in the Gulf Coast region are mild enough to support Pythons, which have been known to live in the Florida Everglades since the late 1990s.

The report went on to say that over the past two years multiple people have reported seeing large dark-colored, banded snakes at Lake Eufaula and Barbour Creek. These large snakes were 10 feet long and longer, witnesses said.

My trusty Schneider road atlas tells me that Fort Gaines, Ga., which is on the Alabama-Georgia border just east of Abbeville, is actually further north than Evergreen. In other words, most of Conecuh County is closer to the Gulf Coast than where this Python was supposedly spotted last week.

As far as I know, no Pythons have been ever been spotted in Conecuh County, but if they are, please let us know at The Courant. I’ve taken lots of big rattlesnake and cottonmouth pictures over the years, but a Python would be a first and would probably guarantee you a spot on the front page.

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As of Monday morning, 13 teams remained in the hunt for this year’s NBA title.

During the past week, Golden State eliminated my favorite team, the New Orleans Pelicans, and the Warriors will face either Portland or Memphis in the Western Conference quarterfinals. More than likely, they’ll play Memphis, who was up three games to none on Portland when this column was written.

Other Western Conference teams still alive included the Clippers, San Antonio, Houston and Dallas. As of Monday, the series between the Clippers and San Antonio was tied up, 2-2, but Houston was up on Dallas, 3-1.

Only six teams remained in the mix in the Eastern Conference. During the past week, the Washington Wizards swept Toronto, 4-0, sending the Raptors to the house. Cleveland also swept the Boston Celtics, 4-0, thereby eliminating my favorite team in the East.

Other Eastern Conference teams still in the hunt as of Monday included Atlanta, Brooklyn, Chicago and Milwaukee. As of this writing, Atlanta was up two games to one on Brooklyn, and Chicago had a 3-1 edge on the Bucks.


Of the 13 teams left, I expect Golden State to win the West and to play probably Cleveland out of the East. Golden State’s looked good all season, and it looks like it’s going to be hard to beat them in the playoffs.

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