Green Anaconda Could Be Lurking In New Jersey Lake

A green anaconda could be lurking in New Jersey’s largest freshwater lake, according to reptile specialist Gerald Andrejcak who reported spotting the massive snake at least twice in the past month. Reports of a giant snake in Lake Hopatcong have fueled panic in the area for the past few weeks.

Andrejcak, assistant director of Common Sense for Animals in Franklin Township, told NJ.com that the snake was spotted by several people at the lake is a green anaconda, which can grow up to 29 feet long. The zoologist and reptile expert has been spending his free time hunting for the snake.

He claims to have seen the reptile early last week, confirming its species and determined that it found a drain pipe to hide in to evade capture. Andrejcak got another glimpse on Sunday, but a state police cruiser pulling up to the shore spooked it again.

Early reports called the snake a boa constrictor, which the zoologist said is related to an anaconda. Reports also claimed the reptile was more than 20-feet long. Andrejcak added that most people overestimate the size of unexpected snakes, and the anaconda at Lake Hopatcong is more likely to be 12 to 15 feet long.

Anacondas have no natural predators and can feast on small rodents or even medium mammals. Despite the 1996 movie, the massive snakes are no threat to people. Andrejcak added, “If you leave it alone, it’s going to leave you alone. If you corner it, it’s going to defend itself, but it’s not aggressive. Everybody should stop panicking… you can tell people anything, but they are going to believe what they want.”

The snake appeared just before the Morris County 4-H Fair at Chubb Park in Chester, which featured Herpetology Heroes, the county’s 4-H reptile club. Should it find shelter and a continual supply of food, the snake could survive into the cold weather, but it isn’t a temperate zone creature.

A spokesman for the state’s Department of Environmental Protection told ABC News that there have been no confirmed sightings of the snake and no evidence it is actually inhabiting Lake Hopatcong. Spokesman Larry Ragonese added:

“We’ve been trying to take this seriously, because if there is a dangerous creature we want to help capture it. At this point, we’ve gone a couple weeks now with a growing story of an exotic creature roaming the lake, and there’s hundreds of eyes now trained on it. If there was to be something, you would think that someone would have seen it.”

Andrejcak stated that commotion from boats in the area and onlookers coming to try and spot the snake may have caused the green anaconda to go elsewhere.

[Image by bobosh_t]