Will James was driving down Alligator Alley in South Florida to Naples with his wife and daughter when they stopped at a Mile Marker 62 rest stop in the Big Cypress National Preserve.
According to Local10, James, an experienced hiker, said he heard snarling and barking just off the trail near the rest area and walked back to find what was making the odd noises.
What they found was a coyote tangled with a boa constrictor. Un’believable’? Maybe…
“I only got one picture,” James told the Miami Herald. “I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a wild animal, but you’re lucky if you have only a moment.”
According to the Miami Herald, state wildlife officials are skeptical, pointing out that boa constrictors are far more rare in the wild than Burmese pythons, the exotic snake that has spread across South Florida, wiping out populations of small mammals.
“After reviewing the image, we believe that it may have been altered,” Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman Carli Segelson said in an email. “While it is possible that boas and pythons eat canines, we do not have an established population of boas in this area.”
Below is the best version of the photo. What do you think? Real, or fake?
