Python Found On Inner Harbor Water Wheel
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- An unusual find in downtown Baltimore. A live python is spotted on the Inner Harbor water wheel, but where it came from and how it got there is still a mystery.
Rick Ritter with the speculation about this surprising discovery.
A rare find, to say the least. The National Aquarium says it has spotted snakes before, but never a python in the harbor.
At the Inner Harbor, an African ball python quickly became the talk of the city, and within hours, an Internet sensation.
"You don't know what you're going to find at Baltimore's Inner Harbor," said Rikki Spector.
Nate Appleby-Kellet spotted the tropical snake on the city's water wheel cameras Tuesday night.
"We looked at our remote cameras, and the snake was coiled around this wire," he said.
Wednesday morning, there it was, coiled up on its solar panel.
"He found the warmest spot on our boat right away and stayed there all night long," said Appleby-Kellet.
Experts say it's likely the snake was a pet and escaped someone's home before being washed away into the harbor.
In southwest Florida, there's an overload of Burmese pythons, where they're being hunted to help protect the diverse wildlife.
"It's the same issue of people, kind of irresponsible pet owners, keeping snakes that get out," said Jack Cover, National Aquarium.
Experts say the python found at the harbor wouldn't have made it long on its own—far from their usual habitat near the equator, where it's hot and wet—meaning the exotic species won't be making a home in Charm City.
"The likelihood of the ball python ever being able to be established in Maryland is very, very unlikely," Cover said.
The ball python is non-venomous. A man called WJZ Wednesday and said his pet python got loose Tuesday night and fell into a storm drain. Right now, that snake remains in the hands of the National Aquarium.
If the snake is not claimed, the National Aquarium plans on helping it find a new home.
