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Record
length found in 2006! |
Black
Kingsnake Lampropeltis
getula nigra |
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"When Phil Peak
and I first formed our partnership and began documenting and cataloguing
Kentucky’s reptiles and amphibians we discovered some giant
black kingsnakes. Many of them were photographed, but not measured.
We eventually began to carry measuring tapes, and the big snakes
disappeared accordingly! We knew what we had seen though, and figured
that it was just a matter of time before we found one that exceeded
the 58 inch record in The Peterson Field Guide." |
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Photo by Mike O'Brien |
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"On 18 September
2006 we finally found a snake that we thought filled the bill. It
was discovered in Hopkins County, Kentucky under a giant piece of
artificial cover composed of metal sheets held together by wooden
beams. We temporarily collected the male specimen and took it to
Murray, Kentucky where one of our colleagues, Michael O’Brien,
resided. Together the three of us allowed the snake to crawl along
the floor where it met a wall. After three attempts we came up with
the same measurement of 60 1/8th inches."
"This warranted
a call to The Louisville Zoo, where The Taxonomic Curator, Bill
McMahan, arranged to have the specimen gassed and measured by The
Zoo’s Animal Health Center Staff. A few days later I met with
Lead Reptile Keeper Gary Johnson at The AHC and we measured the
snake while waiting for AHC Staff to arrive. Since we knew that
we were about to gas the snake we did not try to get an exact measurement,
but did want to make sure that it was worth the resources to perform
the procedure. We came up with just over 60 inches with each of
several measurements."
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Photo by Dr. Zoltan Gymesi |
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"Dr. Zoltan Gymesi
and Vet Tech, Elizabeth Hayden soon arrived and the specimen was
placed in a tube and gassed. The kingsnake did struggle when the
gas was first delivered, but soon relaxed. While relaxed but still
conscious the snake was laid across the exam table while we waited
for it to become completely unconscious. The table was covered with
a towel and measured 59 inches with a little bit of snake hanging
over both ends…as expected."
"After around
15 minutes we determined that the snake was completely relaxed.
It was removed from the exam table and placed on the floor where
we had measured it prior to gassing. Much to my surprise, it measured
58.50 inches long. The expression on my face elicited laughter from
everyone in the room, but a new record had been documented! We measured
it again and again but came up with the same measurement each time." |
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Photo by Will Bird |
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"We soon
contacted Dr. Joseph T. Collins and explained the circumstances. He
opted to go with the measurement of 58.50 inches and declared this
a new record length for nigra! The previous record came from New Albany
Indiana prior to 1958 and was reported by Anthony Wilson. It was great
for Phil and myself to bring this record home to Kentucky. The conservative
measurement gives all of us who live in the range of The Black Kingsnake
to continue our search for more record-sized giants and Phil and I
encourage everyone to do just that!!"
Will
Bird |
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