Exotic mystery snake never found at Congaree National Park

COLUMBIA, SC Remember the exotic snake that supposedly lurked in Congaree National Park last spring?

Nobody ever found it. But it might not have existed in the first place.

“We are skeptical that anybody actually released a snake,’’ park spokesman Scott Teodorski said Friday. “We never did see one. We never did see anybody with one. It’s possible one jumped off the boardwalk and into the woods, but kind of unlikely.’’

National park officials caused a minor sensation when they posted on social media in May about a report of a boa constrictor being let go by a visitor . The posting was picked up by news organizations and shared across the country. Some folks who live near the park even called county officials, worried about encountering a boa constrictor in the area.

“I think the gun was jumped a little bit with our social media,’’ Teodorski said. “The intent was to educate people about bringing stuff into the park. That is something that got out of the gates a little bit quicker, without as much information as we should have.’’

Congaree National Park, a 27,000-acre floodplain forest southeast of Columbia, has plenty of snakes, but not boa constrictors. Boa constrictors are native to Central and South America. They can grow to nine feet long and they kill by squeezing their prey to death. They are not considered threats to people, but could have been disconcerting to anyone encountering one at Congaree National.

Releasing an exotic species like the boa constrictor is a concern because it can change the balance of nature. Some exotic species introduced to parts of the U.S. have killed off some of the native species. It is illegal to release some species into national parks.

If by some chance the snake was released, park officials said it won’t last much longer, with the winter not far away. Boa constrictors are tropical reptiles that can’t survive in cold weather.