Fact Check

Snake Defense

Do photographs show a snake found in the receding flood waters of New Orleans.?

Published Sept. 22, 2005

Claim:

Claim:   Photographs show a snake found in the receding flood waters of New Orleans.


Status:   Real photos; inaccurate description.

Examples:   [Collected on the Internet, 2005]




My buddy sent me these pics saying the snake was found when the water receded in the Gulf area after Katrina....just wanted to know if you've seen them and if you know whether or not it's from Katrina or not.


Click to enlarge


Click to enlarge




Origins:   It seems there are no old photos of weather phenomena or reptiles (particularly snakes), from any part of the world, that someone won't dust off and recirculate with text proclaiming them to be somehow connected to Hurricane Katrina.

This latest entry shows a series of photographs of a snake caught in an electrified fence and claims them to be pictures taken in the receding flood waters of New Orleans. As we noted in an earlier article on these images, they actually show a python caught trying to escape from a fenced compound on the Silent Valley Ranch in South Africa after devouring an impala.

Last updated:   22 September 2005


David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.

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