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Satanica

Veteran Member
Bold Member!
Hat tip to BuffettGirl! Okay, so when you showed me this article, in my haste I was under the impression they thought someone had put a rubber snake in a tree. :D I had no idea rubber boa was a species nor could I have imagined it was native to the Northwest! I guess, then, it will be fine through the winter.

[....]
A group of hikers came across the rubber boa in the Estacada area. Turns out, rubber boa snakes are native to Oregon.

“Another couple who were hiking ahead of us had stopped to look at something, and I just stopped to say, ‘What are you looking at?’” said hiker Karen Meier. “… They said, ‘Oh there’s a rubber boa in the tree here,’ and I look up and there’s a snake in the tree right here.”
full

Meier was hiking with friends along the Clackamas River Trail on Thursday afternoon. They were between Fish Camp and Indian Henry, for those familiar with the area, and had just passed the Pup Creek Waterfall when they saw the boa.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed to FOX 12 on Friday that the snake was a rubber boa, a constrictor that eats small prey like mice.

The snakes are not dangerous to humans, according to ODFW biologists, and can be found in a variety of habitats, especially in forest clearings along the coast range.

It’s not clear how often they are seen in Clackamas County, but the habitat along the trail is right for the species.

ODFW isn’t getting involved regarding this snake, saying, “It’s just a snake doing its thing.”

Meier added that the snake encounter won’t change her hiking habits.

“I studied wildlife, so I’m into this stuff. I think it’s really cool to see different wildlife,” she said. “Other people weren’t so sure they liked snakes.”
[....]



 
Well it is not the boa I was expecting to be found on the Clack in OR....

But it is the boa we need, actually kind of surprised it's thriving here, the weather is not that great for the species.

I had a ball python when I was in high school, had to donate him to a zoo because he was getting too big at the time of donation he was over 6' pushing 7'.
 
@BuffettGirl , yes, I do. I have a passion for redtails, I find them amazing. I also have two Sulcata Tortoises, two beautiful spoiled kitty cat brothers, and 2 hyperactive dogs, and a rescue bunny.
Well I for one am glad they have someone that loves them, ever since I looked into the maw of death that is the hissing black mamba one morning on my way to school all the nope ropes in the world have been verboten for me! I'm a screaming sissy when it comes to snakes!
 
They are just in Oregon, right?? Not Washington. These are not border crossing snakes, I hope??
Bad news....
Rubber boas are the most Northerly of Boa species. The distribution of rubber boas covers a large portion of the western United States, stretching from the Pacific Coast east to western Utah and Montana, as far south as the San Bernardino and San Jacinto Mountains east of Los Angeles in California, and as far north as southern British Columbia. There have also been rare sightings in Colorado and Alberta in addition to the states/provinces that they are known to thrive in: California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and extending to its northernmost range in British Columbia. This is also the highest latitude of any boa, that is to say the closest point to either pole for a boa.[4]

Never knew... I didn't think there was a cold tolerant boa species, but this guy is. They actually have the reverse, don't like warmer weather. And can be found at elevations up to 10,000 ft!
 
So let me see if I've got this right.

Hikers who were out hiking to enjoy the great outdoors, nature and wildlife.
They come across a snake indigenous to the area that is not harmful to humans on this makes the news?
People on a wildlife hike encounter... you guessed it...wildlife... and they don't even have moving video of the f****** thing? Just shitty still photos?

Go to Hell on a molten firepole Fox 12!
 
Article makes it out like it's some no big deal, normal thing. Figured itd be treated similar to how Florida has responded to the python infestation.
It is a no big deal, completely normal thing. It is a very common native snake.
I've never found one more than 2 feet long near my house. They are very docile. When you pick one up, it immediately wraps and squeezes your hand and wrist. When picked up gently they don't use their skunky stink like garter snakes. Very polite of them! I'd like to know how big that one was in the photo.
 
So let me see if I've got this right.

Hikers who were out hiking to enjoy the great outdoors, nature and wildlife.
They come across a snake indigenous to the area that is not harmful to humans on this makes the news?
People on a wildlife hike encounter... you guessed it...wildlife... and they don't even have moving video of the f****** thing? Just shitty still photos?

Go to Hell on a molten firepole Fox 12!
It is newsworthy because 95% of native adults from the 35+ on up set that live in, camp in and hike the Oregon woods have never heard of the dang thing. Legit strangers in line at 7-11 are talking about it, jaws dropped. It's unsettling...
 
You yanks gettin all excited over a little boa... I was expecting to see something 30 feet long and a foot in diameter.

Where I am, we have the Brown snake, the Tiger Snake, the Taipan and the Death Adder. Browns are the 2nd most venomous snake on Earth, while Taipans are the most with enough venom in one bite to kill 100 people. The Death Adders are the fastest attacking snake in existence. Fortunately they are all quite shy and you'd have do something stupid like step on one to get bitten. As for the pythons, if they are in your way, grab em by the head and toss em.
 
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hissing black mamba
(Oh $DEITY he's talking about Capstick again.)

Well, I am. Capstick wrote of shotgunning the "long drop" then burning down the toilet hut when he couldn't find the mamba that hissed at him when he thought he was going to use the facilities then, when the snake didn't come out, burning down his own hut.

I think it's fair to say he was not a fan of snakes either, at least of the two-step variety.

--Al
edit for sloppy grammar
 
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(Oh $DEITY he's talking about Capstick again.)

Well, I am. Capstick wrote of shotgunning the "long drop" then burning down the toilet hut when he couldn't find the mamba that hissed at him when he thought he was going to use the facilities then, when the snake didn't come out, he burned down his own hut.

I think it's fair to say he was not a fan of snakes either, at least of the two-step variety.

--Al
I don't blame him a bit! Sounds PERFECTLY reasonable to me. Have you ever seen the inside of a mamba's mouth? It's terrifying! I was 12. I thought I was going to die. Clearly I'm over it and have adjust well though. :dead:

@Sue sue @45.5051 degrees latitude we are closer to the North Pole than we are to the equator. ;)
 
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It is a no big deal, completely normal thing. It is a very common native snake.
I've never found one more than 2 feet long near my house. They are very docile. When you pick one up, it immediately wraps and squeezes your hand and wrist. When picked up gently they don't use their skunky stink like garter snakes. Very polite of them! I'd like to know how big that one was in the photo.

Found it odd that an anaconda could be native to Oregon.
 
@Craygor , back in the good old days, when I had Burmese Pythons and full grown Redtails, we had a few bunnies in the freezer as well. Now-a-days just rats in the freezer. We raised our own feeders for several years, "never name the food" was the motto.
 
You yanks gettin all excited over a little boa... I was expecting to see something 30 feet long and a foot in diameter.

Where I am, we have the Brown snake, the Tiger Snake, the Taipan and the Death Adder. Browns are the 2nd most venomous snake on Earth, while Taipans are the most with enough venom in one bite to kill 100 people. The Death Adders are the fastest attacking snake in existence. Fortunately they are all quite shy and you'd have do something stupid like step on one to get bitten. As for the pythons, if they are in your way, grab em by the head and toss em.
You must not work for the tourism bureau there.
 
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