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10-Foot-Long Snake Eats Beaver, Then Swims To Area Where Kids Play In River

By Heather Tooley
Published on: 08:28 PST, Jun 30, 2016

A 10-foot-long snake in Maine was spotted eating a beaver before swimming to where kids were playing nearby.

Now, the hunt is on for the snake seen chowing down on a beaver in the Presumpscot River in Westbrook. The incident happened early Wednesday morning, ABC News reports. The feasting snake was seen finishing its meal before swimming across the river and seeking refuge in the nearby brush that just so happened to be where children are known to swim and feed ducks. Needless to say, residents are unsettled about the snake and what it could mean for local children.

According to the report, the snake has been named by residents as “Wessie” and “The Presumpscot Python” on social media. It even has its own Twitter account and hashtag, #Wessie. There are currently 785 followers on Wessie’s account.

Police are on the lookout for the 10-foot-long snake that ate the beaver, but it hasn’t surfaced. The Maine Warden Service said the snake might lay dormant for a couple days while it digests the large animal.

Local 21 CBS reports that police were “not joking” to residents about looking for a “large snake” that was discovered eating a “large mammal” in the town of Westbrook. The sighting happened at 3:30 a.m. when an officer spotted the enormous snaking consuming what appeared to be a beaver at Riverbank Park.

Ironically, there was a report last week similar to what an officer witnessed Wednesday morning. Some were skeptical about the report, but now there seems to be some truth to it.

“I thought that somebody just saw a log on the water or something moving and their imagination got away from them, but I believe the police officers,” said Gene Taylor, who works in Westbrook. “They’re well trained and they know what they saw.”

Another resident says people are just worried about their children and small pets swimming in the water and coming across the snake. She agrees that it would be best for authorities to find the python and relocate it to a safer and more remote area.

In the beginning, an officer spotted the snake eating the beaver. A second officer soon arrived, and they all saw the snake swim across Presumpscot River, where it slithered into the thick underbrush.

The mysterious python snake has quite a few Twitter posts on it as word gets around that it ate a beaver. Everyone is worried that the snake will tackle larger prey. Since children frequent Presumpscot River, it’s cause for great concern.

It was just a few weeks ago that an alligator at Disney World in Florida grabbed a 2-year-old boy and dragged him into the water. The child’s body was found intact, but he died from drowning and bite wounds. Since the tragedy, Disney has taken extra precautions to warn resort visitors about alligators and other wildlife in the water.

It might be difficult for authorities to find the 10-foot-long snake that ate a beaver. If it fled to a dark, quiet area to fully processes its large meal, it won’t venture out for a while.

The snake more or may not prey on a human if given the chance, but no one is taking any chances. Authorities want to capture Wessie the Presumpscot River snake and relocate it.

[Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images]

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