Residents of a southern Oklahoma City trailer park have found a new resident has set up camp in their neighborhood. Even though they might be nice neighbors to incoming residents, this new resident might not be very welcomed.
Residents of a southern Oklahoma City trailer park have found a new resident has set up camp in their neighborhood. Even though they might be nice neighbors to incoming residents, this new resident might not be very welcomed.
Apparently, there has been a snake that has taken up residence in the Burntwood Mobile Home Park. Residents claim that the snake has been there for months - at least since June - and has been surviving off of possums, rats and the neighborhood cats.
The park management company hired Trevor Bounds of Red Beard Wildlife Control to attempt to catch the snake. It is a 13-foot reticulated python and Bounds said it’s the size of the snake that poses a threat.
“We’re talking, that thing has been eating opossums, foot-long rats, and cats,” Bounds said in an interview. “The mouth on that thing is the size of your foot and when it opens up you’re going to be able to fit something pretty large in there.”
Bounds said that not only is the size of the snake a threat, but also the kind.
“The constricting is what can be the dangerous part,” Bounds added. “You can’t have small children or pets going near this thing that’s why this should’ve been tackled a whole lot sooner. Things could have gotten much worse.”
Bounds noted that there are telltale signs on how long the snake has been running, or slithering, free in the trailer park.
“You can tell he’s been there awhile when you see all around the house he’s at,” Bounds said. “There are signs of him being there through rain and in the heat.”
Another concerning part of this issue, is how the park’s management is allegedly handling. According to residents, they received a letter from the management company urging them not to speak about the snake.
One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said that the management company is showing their true colors with the letter.
“The only reason they finally did something was because a resident snapped a picture of it,” said the resident who has lived in the park for 10 years. “Them sending out a warning to us to not talk to media, it’s intimidation all the way.”
“The trailer that the snake is at is just a couple blocks near the pool, and they closed that this summer, but we had no clue why,” the resident continued. “They knew that this snake was out and that having residents in the pool might not be the safest choice.”
Billie Karger, with Madill Animal Control said that catching a snake isn’t typically an issue. The size might prove to be a tad difficult, but not impossible.
“I would go and attempt to locate and catch the python, as we’ve been trained [to do],” Karger said. I would also call a Herpetologist for insight, if necessary, and ask them to foster the animal until we could find it a home.”
They are trained to handle snakes since Marshall County is a rural area.
“ We are trained with the Oklahoma Animal Control Association on how to handle snakes,” Karger continued. “This one is larger than normal, that’s why I would want a Herpetologist to assist.”