East Bay Regional Park District crews are still on the lookout for a large boa constrictor snake that was spotted in Anthony Chabot Regional Park in Oakland earlier this week.
The park district was notified Monday morning that a hiker the previous day had spotted what is presumed to be a red-tailed boa near Big Bear Trail.
According to park officials, the snake is not venomous or a threat to the public, but may be in danger because it is a non-native species and the Bay Area has colder weather than the snake’s usual habitat of warm tropical forests or grasslands.
If the snake is spotted again, crews will try to collect it and work with the Oakland Zoo to assess its health and figure out a long-term home for it.
Authorities do not know how the snake ended up in the park, but said abandoning any animals in regional parks is illegal.
Anyone who sees the snake is asked to call park staff at (510) 690-6676 or a non-emergency public safety line at (510) 881-1833. Members of the public are asked to take a photo and map the sighting but to not try to approach the snake or capture it.
26 comments
Although not a threat to the public, from what i understand, the red tailed boa is far more dangerous then the feathered boa.
Whatever, I staying as far away as possible from a boa constrictor. When I use to walk in Benicia State Park I would often come across snakes, I think they were gopher snake, ones I even stepped on one, unwittingly of course. I felt something round under my shoe, just as I was walking into the park, and though it was a branch, then realized it was too soft to be a branch, I looked down and sure enough a fairly long and fat snake was under my shoe. Fortunately, he/she did not seem to get offended and just slithered into the bushes when I quickly removed my food from the reptile.
Feels like The Far Side
Take a photo and map?
The spot will be easy to find.
Just follow the smell of human excrement and the sounds of screams from someone running in the opposite direction.
We had a red tailed boa as a pet. She was really sweet. Of course we had her since birth and had her for probably 15 years.
Don’t mean to sound glib, but how can you tell if a snake is sweet. As far as I can tell they don’t have much of an expression, unlike a dog and cat. Did she slither up to you to get petted?
@Jojo…how was she sweet? Curious how a snake would compare as a pet. I do not see a snake coming to be pet, or wanting to lay with the owner, but do have no idea. I look forward to any stories.
I had many snakes when I was younger. Some would bite easy, try to get away or just didn’t like to be heald. Some where very chill and like to curled up or next too you ( warm body), wouldn’t bite and where gentle as they didn’t grip very tight when holding them.
How about that! A real snake in the grass…
Bring back the public shooting range!
USI Rifle Range IS open again.
Sorry … not a boa … I used to work at Hoffmann’s Pets … I know reptiles … that is a ball python folks.
That’s probably just a stock photo they pulled from their computer or the internet would be my guess
The poor thing is probably cold and scared. Either dumped or it escaped, sad situation. I wish I was in better shape, I’d go looking for it.
Yes, more than likely it is near death … these animals are from tropic warm climates and cannot live long in the NorCal temps. Sad, this species is one of the most mellow of the puythons … Rock pythons being the most foul-tempered. There is a boa species native to this region … it is the rubber boa … but yatepy seen as it is very shy and seclusive. Down SoCal … there are rosy boas … a beautiful species and excellent pet.
That’s a ball python not a boa lol and it needs to get out if the cold , it’s definitely not a threat.
Were any of you students at El Dorado Middle School during the couple of YEARS after the science lab’s boa constrictor escaped and could not be found ANYWHERE…. seriously! … for a couple of years? (Long time ago…. maybe 1973 or so.)
At the time, one of our daughters was helping to shelve books as a student library assistant. One day she took out a couple of books which had not been shelved in correct Dewey Decimal order, and there was the snake just docilely stretched out between the two rows of books. They figured he/she must have been eating rodents in the shelves (or SOMEWHERE in the building, drinking from sources like puddles left in water fountains?, and maybe just hanging out in the warm, quiet library). Daughter helped the janitor and a male teacher gently lift the boa out and put it into a securable box until another cage could be built. That daughter went on to earn her Master’s in Zoology!!!
@ Antler~
So cool about your Daughter!
@Antler – If your daughter was in Weathervane then I likely knew her.
El Dorado Intermediate’s roaming snake normally lived in Mr. Paulsen’s science classroom. I suspect it escaped more than once. I have a memory, also from about 1973-75, of that Mr. Paulsen was standing at the head of the class while talking. Something moved on the shelf that was on the wall behind him. I was puzzled, “did something change or move?” Apparently another student was more alert and let him know something was going on behind him. The snake was barely visible on top of and behind the books and other stuff he had up there. At that time the cage was still set up in the classroom and so Mr. Paulsen retrieved the snake and put it back in its cage. For all I knew, he could have been periodically releasing the snake to see if anyone would spot it.
I uploaded a scan from a page in the 1974-75 yearbook that has pictures of this classroom to https://imgur.com/a/3TPTnFf The snake was normally in a large clear-sided cage on the left side of the classroom. I’m not sure if its cage is one of the ones in the pictures.
Just like all humans, all animals have their own distinct personalities.
Why do people have to do this with animals (dumping)? Pathetic.
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Oh look! It’s a picture of Kamal Harris!
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I thought nobody is more fitting of that than Schumer.
+1,000
It is nothing short of animal cruelty to release a non-native species into the wild to fend for itself. Do the right thing and find it a home or animal rescue group that can insure its health and vwellbeing.
I suspect it’s far more likely this snake escaped rather than being dumped. Someone who owns one knows they need to be kept in a very warm environment. It’s too cold in this area for them. Someone who owns one also knows they are desirable pets. Post it on Nextdoor or craigslist and it will be out of your hands within 15 minutes. I suspect any of the smaller reptile stores in the area would also be glad to take it. Red-Tailed boa constrictors sell for about $200 to $250 and are among the easiest and most fun snakes to have.
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