Posted: October 8th, 2009 - 8:35am by Ben Chapman

While investigating our move to North Carolina last year, no one told me that there would be snakes involved. I'm sort of a city person, my wildlife and camping experiences are limited and I'm not a huge fan of rodents. I didn't think much about snakes in Ontario.

I'm starting to think about snakes a lot more now -- I saw a story on Fark.com today about a snake in Brunswick County (N.C.). A serious snake:

"Two brothers were just driving along N.C. 133, near Orton Plantation, on Wednesday morning when they noticed a large snake - different from those native to the area - in the roadway. “We thought it was a rattlesnake,” said Billy Ballard, of Oak Island. But a closer look and, later, an expert opinion revealed it was actually a boa constrictor that stretched at least 7 feet long."

"The brothers, on their way to Wilmington for an appointment, brought the snake to the StarNews, where about a dozen people - the ones who apparently did not have a phobia of snakes - came outside to hear the brothers' story."

"“He's wounded. We just have to care for him,” Billy Ballard said. “He's got a family. You can't tell me he's just a stray.”"

Who grabs a snake from the highway, thinking that it might be a rattle snake, throws it in the back of a truck and takes it to the newspaper?

I had my own snake sighting last week. While visiting a farm in Chatham County with a bunch of food safety folks, we saw a snake (left, exactly as shown), known to my tour companions a "big black snake" (creative taxonomist).

I'm feeling a bit like Indiana Jones.