Hi all and Happy New Year!!
I think a lot of people are being fooled by the clever use of perspective. Nearly all of the photographs and footage give a false impression of size by placing the snake in the foreground with people at the rear - this gives the impression of greater girth and length.
Frankly I think it is hilarious :lol: that so many people are being suckered including reptile keepers (who should know better...) and the numerous news agencies and television stations - not one of them seems to have had the common sense to consult with a authoritative herpetologist for an opinion of the footage/pics - maybe they just think that it must be true because April 1st isn't here yet ??? :shock:
The fleeting last scene of the SEVEN network's footage clearly shows the keeper lying beside the stretched out snake (from side-on) and SURPRISE, SURPRISE ... we got a 2 second glimpse of the real proportions ... a snake that would probably be lucky to make 5.5 metres let alone 15 metres ... !!!
And you can't blame the Indonesians for taking advantage of the press to make a few dollars ... to them every Rupee counts :!:
Cheers
David