By now, probably just about everyone in northern New Jersey – and just about everywhere else, judging from all the talk show jokes – has heard the story of the 16-foot anaconda that was rumored to have been out swimming in Lake Hopatcong.
The DEP has been hunting for the snake for the last few weeks. But today, the agency announced that they’re calling off the search, saying that there’s no concrete evidence that such a snake even existed. You can read the full story from NJ.com here.
My NJ SPJ (Society of Professional Journalists) buddy Jane Primerano contributed a story about the search to NorthJersey.com and AIM Jefferson earlier this week. Later on, she remarked to me on how much the whole search seemed like the hunt for the Loch Ness Monster. (No offense to all the Nessie fans out there – I’ve been to Loch Ness myself.)
You can read Jane’s story here.
The only snakes I’ve seen on my wanderings around here are black rat snakes, garter snakes and maybe the occasional copperhead (the last one you’ve got to watch out for). But look at it this way: Whether or not the snake was out in the lake to begin with, it’s still another story you can add to New Jersey’s long and rich history of legends, tales and “WTF moments.”
Trail Heads and Wandering Minds 