# Giant Congo snake **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 3, 2013, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721 "2013-04-03T11:42:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![e.fred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@e.fred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/e.fred)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/1 "2013-04-03T11:42:38Z")
I saw a picture of a giant snake taken by a helicoptor pilot in the 1950s. He took it in the Congo in africa. He said the snake was 50 ft long. Was this real and how high could it jump and strike if that big, and how fast could it chase someone. What would you do if you saw it and how could you fight it? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/2 "2013-04-03T11:43:50Z")
It wasn’t real. So the rest of your questions have no answer. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/3 "2013-04-03T11:46:18Z")
The largest snake found in Africa is the Rock Python, which has a maximum length of around 20 feet. The longest snake anywhere is probably the reticulated python of Asia, which may be a few feet longer. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/4 "2013-04-03T13:23:59Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > The largest snake found in Africa is the Rock Python, which has a maximum length of around 20 feet. The longest snake anywhere is probably the reticulated python of Asia, which may be a few feet longer. Really? The longest snakes are maybe 20 to 25 feet long? I didn’t know that - for some reason I would’ve thought they’d be longer - upwards of 30 or 40 feet; no clue why I thought that… ETA: [49-foot python captured in Indonesia](http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3845750/ns/world_news/t/-foot-python-captured-indonesia/#.UVwtl8u9KSM) Old (2004) MSNBC article on a snake found that could be as long as 48 feet; seems like it needed to be verified. Article states that the longest known at that point was ~32 feet…interesting. Fighting my ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/5 "2013-04-03T13:35:20Z")
There have been claims for years that reticulated pythons and green anacondas grow to thirty feet or more, but I’m pretty sure the longest reputably measured specimens of those species were under 25 feet. Visual estimates are notoriously wrong, and skins stretch, so they don’t prove much. Quoting my self from a previous thread: [QUOTE=Crotalus] The cottonmouth was in a swamp in north Florida. I encountered it while I was wading through knee-deep water among some trees with a couple of guys. It took us a half hour to get that snake into a bag, during the course of which it bit everything it could reach, including a stump, our snake hooks, and itself. While we were trying to subdue this snake, and after, we guessed that it was five feet long, which is big for a cottonmouth. When we got it back to the lab the following week we measured it. Three feet ten inches. Not even experts can accurately judge a snake’s length. [/QUOTE] Obviously not the the same scale as a huge python, but three experienced snake handlers were off by 25% on a snake we had in our hands. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/6 "2013-04-03T13:41:47Z")
There is a $50,000 prize available from the Wildlife Conservation Society for a live snake that exceeds 30 feet in length. This prize has been available for around 100 years, and remains unclaimed. IIRC the longest snake found and verified was 27 feet in length. If there were any longer snakes someone would have brought one in to claim the prize. They don’t exist. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/7 "2013-04-03T14:05:26Z")
And if you did find a 50-foot snake, what kind of pet would it make? ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/8 "2013-04-03T14:13:29Z")
[49 foot python captured in Indonesia](http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3845750/ns/world_news/t/-foot-python-captured-indonesia/), NBC News (2004). Reticulated python. The [longest snake in captivity](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/21/medusa-worlds-longest-snake_n_1904214.html) is 25’, according to Guinness (2012). Reticulated python. With video This [extinct snake](http://smithsonianscience.org/2012/03/largest-snake-the-world-has-ever-seen-is-being-brought-back-to-life-by-smithsonian-channel/) was about 50 ft. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/9 "2013-04-03T14:14:00Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > And if you did find a 50-foot snake, what kind of pet would it make? Bet it could take on a gator! ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/10 "2013-04-03T14:14:26Z")
> [@e.fred](#): > > Was this real and how high could it jump and strike if that big, and how fast could it chase someone. What would you do if you saw it and how could you fight it? Even if we assume this was an exaggeration and it was a real, 25ft python, pythons are constrictors. They don’t “strike” like cobras, and they don’t chase you across the veldt. They move very slowly across the ground. They tend to lurk around at the edge of water and then lunge at their prey. Basically, if you can see the python from some little distance away, it isn’t going to be able to do any harm to you unless you stand there and let it. A python’s chief weapon is surprise. Surprise… and fear. A python’s two chief weapons are surprise and fear. And ruthless efficiency. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/11 "2013-04-03T14:15:33Z")
And, just for fun: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/sc84gTh4Dy4/hqdefault.jpg "THE BIGGEST/LONGEST SNAKE IN THE WORLD") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc84gTh4Dy4) ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/12 "2013-04-03T14:25:03Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > There is a $50,000 prize available from the Wildlife Conservation Society for a live snake that exceeds 30 feet in length. This prize has been available for around 100 years, and remains unclaimed. IIRC the longest snake found and verified was 27 feet in length. If there were any longer snakes someone would have brought one in to claim the prize. They don’t exist. Well, they might exist (30-footers, not 50-footers), but there’s no believable proof. I had thought that there were reliable measurements of green anacondas and reticulated pythons that approached 30 feet, but I’m unable to find evidence of that now. The people who are most likely to find a record-breaking snake are probably least likely to have any idea that a prize exists for such a thing. They are most likely to simply eat it. 😃 **Learjeff** , that 49-foot reticulated python turned out to be [less than half that](http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2004/jan/05/animalwelfare.indonesia) size. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/13 "2013-04-03T14:30:24Z")
> [@Learjeff](#): > > [49 foot python captured in Indonesia](http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3845750/ns/world_news/t/-foot-python-captured-indonesia/), NBC News (2004). Reticulated python. [The amazing shrinking snake](http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/bigsnake.asp). The longest snake ever is recorded by Guiness as one that measured over 32 feet. However that snake was dead, and dead snakes can be stretched, and have been in attempts to claim the record. There are no credible claims of a snake exceeding 30 feet in length. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/14 "2013-04-03T14:33:51Z")
> [@Learjeff](#): > > And, just for fun: > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc84gTh4Dy4](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc84gTh4Dy4) [Jim and Marlin](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vT3GOc9Zgo) having a relaxing time with an anaconda. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/15 "2013-04-03T14:35:05Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > [The amazing shrinking snake](http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/bigsnake.asp). Ironic, given that the islanders > [@](#): > > “revered the creature as a ruler” . It clearly hadn’t been calibrated. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/16 "2013-04-03T14:50:23Z")
Your snakes should always be NIST-traceable. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/17 "2013-04-03T14:52:52Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > If there were any longer snakes someone would have brought one in to claim the prize. I understand that people tried bringing in bigger snakes to claim the prize, but were never heard from again. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/18 "2013-04-03T14:53:32Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Your snakes should always be NIST-traceable. I imagine the problem was that the python was coiling itself up in 3D space. For maximum accuracy you should always keep your snakes on a plane. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/19 "2013-04-03T15:08:42Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I understand that people tried bringing in bigger snakes to claim the prize, but were never heard from again. :eek: But **e.fred** may have a good chance at success. I say we encourage him to give it a try. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/20 "2013-04-03T15:39:17Z")
Hah! Just can’t trust the news, can we? I should have pointed out that I didn’t credit the 49-foot claim, based on the later Guinness records. But then, Guinness doesn’t check every claim. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721.md?page=2)