# 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:** 2
**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, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/21 "2013-04-03T15:39:35Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > 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. So, wait - you’re telling me that experienced men, even when holding a snake in their hands, overestimate the length by 25% or more? That explains so much about what happens when a guy is holding his snake and making claims about length… 😃 ---
**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, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/22 "2013-04-03T17:28:27Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > So, wait - you’re telling me that experienced men, even when holding a snake in their hands, overestimate the length by 25% or more? > > That explains so much about what happens when a guy is holding his snake and making claims about length… > > 😃 No, I think the guys you are thinking of are just liars. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/23 "2013-04-03T18:03:30Z")
If you put a 50-foot snake in a plane, would it be able to take off? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/24 "2013-04-03T18:07:16Z")
> [@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. > > 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. [This model](http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/files/2012/03/titanoboa.jpeg) of [Titanoboa](http://img.allvoices.com/thumbs/event/609/480/91040649-titanoboa-snake.jpg) shows what an actual 50-foot snake would look like. It would be much, much bigger than the python shown in the video. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/25 "2013-04-03T18:58:04Z")
I work with leather very often and find it only stretched in one direction which in the case of a cow it would be width, not sure if snake leather works the same way or not. ---
**Author:** ![Victor\_Charlie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7ea924/32.png) [@Victor\_Charlie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Victor_Charlie)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/26 "2013-04-03T19:03:49Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > 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: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. Snakes are like rats, spiders and roaches… they’re a lot bigger in recollection than in reality. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/27 "2013-04-03T19:16:09Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > 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. If you were here I’d punch you. Then buy you a beer 😃 ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/28 "2013-04-03T20:23:56Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > If you put a 50-foot snake in a plane, would it be able to take off? Not if it was on a treadmill. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/29 "2013-04-03T20:29:50Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > So, wait - you’re telling me that experienced men, even when holding a snake in their hands, overestimate the length by 25% or more? > > That explains so much about what happens when a guy is holding his snake and making claims about length… > > 😃 When it’s over 3 feet long, you do tend to lose track. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/30 "2013-04-03T21:50:15Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > 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. The last time I was in range of a python, I distracted it by saying ‘Oh look, there’s the Pope.’ ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/31 "2013-04-04T10:32:39Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > The last time I was in range of a python, I distracted it by saying ‘Oh look, there’s the Pope.’ I must say I never expected to be able to shoehorn a Python reference into a thread about actual pythons and have it be almost relevant. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/32 "2013-04-04T12:22:07Z")
> [@e.fred](#): > > 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? [Is this the picture you are talking of ?](http://www.cryptomundo.com/wp-content/giantcongosnake.jpg). I first saw this picture in Bernard Heuvelmans’ book _Les Derniers Dragons d’Afrique_ (The Last African Dragons). Now, keep in mind that Heuvelmans was a cryptozoologist, but even he said that we couldn’t estimate the size of the snake because there was nothing in the picture which we could use to compare the size to. ---
**Author:** ![JLRogers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce73a5/32.png) [@JLRogers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JLRogers)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/33 "2013-04-04T12:28:16Z")
Snakes are easy: Just grab the tail and wave it in front of the nose. The snake will strike, swallow its own tail, and then it’s only a matter of time before it finishes its meal. ---
**Author:** ![panaccione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@panaccione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panaccione)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/34 "2013-04-04T19:34:49Z")
> [@Learjeff](#): > > And, just for fun: > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc84gTh4Dy4](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc84gTh4Dy4) Got me. Jerk. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/35 "2013-04-04T21:48:53Z")
[This is one](http://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/img/kw50b28740.jpg) I’ve seen, and is the one I thought the OP referred to. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/36 "2013-04-04T21:55:20Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > I work with leather very often and find it only stretched in one direction which in the case of a cow it would be width, not sure if snake leather works the same way or not. You could tell if a snake skin has been stretched by seeing if the scales are in contact or not. The scales don’t stretch, only the skin between them, so if there is space between the scales the skin has been stretched. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/37 "2013-04-05T08:08:55Z")
> [@Learjeff](#): > > And, just for fun: > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc84gTh4Dy4](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc84gTh4Dy4) Whoa! I’m glad I’m not the one that took _ **that** _ video! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/38 "2013-04-05T09:40:13Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > [This is one](http://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/img/kw50b28740.jpg) I’ve seen, and is the one I thought the OP referred to. I can’t believe anyone would fall for that shoddy chop job (the perspective is totally screwy, for one thing), but apparently several newspapers have published it. Anyway, it was an entry in a Photoshop competition. The picture purports to be of a snake in a river in Borneo, but it’s actually a badly Photoshopped version of [this photo](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PAerUb8JeNU/SbR7itzY0kI/AAAAAAAAADs/DM5x3OYniEk/s1600-h/1191052337034_1191052337034_r.jpg) of the Congo River. Details [here](http://www.skeptics4life.com/2009/03/borneo-snake.html). ---
**Author:** ![wedgehed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8edcca/32.png) [@wedgehed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wedgehed)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/39 "2013-04-05T12:37:24Z")
I’m glad nature didn’t turn out any venomous snakes the size of the large constrictors. That would probably make us a legitimate food source. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721/40 "2013-04-05T14:10:44Z")
> [@wedgehed](#): > > I’m glad nature didn’t turn out any venomous snakes the size of the large constrictors. That would probably make us a legitimate food source. There have actually been king cobras over 18 feet long. Not a snake I would want to come face to face with. > **[King cobra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_cobra)** > > Genus-level: > The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is a species complex of snakes endemic to Asia. With an average of 3.18 to 4 m (10.4 to 13.1 ft) and a record length of 5.85 m (19.2 ft), it is the world's longest venomous snake and among the heaviest. Under the genus Ophiophagus, it is not phylogenetically a true cobra despite its common name and some resemblance. Spanning from the Indian Subcontinent through Southeastern Asia to Southern China, the king cobra is widely distributed albeit no... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-congo-snake/654721.md?page=3)