Grant County residents warned about large snake

[47of74]

Clicked on this thinking it was going to be about Scott Walker or some other Wisconsin GOP politician. Nope, this was about a real snake.

The sheriff of Grant County is putting residents on alert after a large snake was reported to have crossed a highway — and is still on the loose.

The fugitive snake, which authorities think is a python, was seen around 5:30 p.m. Sunday crossing Highway 61 in Dickeyville, a village not far from the Mississippi River on the way to Dubuque.

And this was no little snake. A post on the Sheriff's Office's Facebook page says it was "as long as the width of both lanes of traffic."

Authorities are advising parents to keep close watch on their children, and the public should not try to catch the snake if it is spotted again.

[Scuba]

1. Timber Rattlesnakes are the biggest in Wisconsin, and only grow to five feet or so ...

... and any knowledgable observer would be unlikely to confuse one for a python.

Probably someone's pet that escaped and has been living on squirrels and rabbits.

[saltpoint]

2. Says the snake was seen near Dickeyville.

What is the name of the high school team in Dickeyville, or do we even want to know?

I think Rick Santorum should be flown in at once to meet this crisis head-on.

[47of74]

3. They don't have a high school there...

...they do have a K-8 church school called Holy Ghost-Immaculate Conception that has a campus in Dickeyville. (The other campus is in nearby Kieler).

Hmmmm, would Santorum, in the Savage sense of the word, slow such a snake down?

[saltpoint]

4. Good question. One that should be posed

to the media at once, preferably starting with one of Wolf Blitzer's dazzling political panels.

[47of74]

5. UPDATE - snake found, not dangerous.

The snake has been identified

Dickeyville-area residents, it is safe to let the small children and dogs back outdoors.

Many citizens were on high alert today after the Grant County Sheriff's Department passed along several reports of a snake as long as two lanes of traffic slithering across the area. Sheriff Nate Dreckman even wrote in an email that "he only concern would be for small pets or very small children playing outside by themselves."

But tonight, the sheriff provided an update via social media. A Dickeyville resident snapped a photo of the snake in question and, according to a sheriff's department deputy as well as a "person familiar with snakes," it is a very large bull snake. Such snakes are native to the Grant County area.

"Using the photograph and comparing it to landmarks, the snake is estimated to be between 50" and 70" long," Dreckman stated. "There is no danger to the general public, and if someone spots it, it should be left alone."