Even before getting into the emerging minefield of videos generated by artificial intelligence, there was always uncertainty about whether user-generated content was real or staged. Somewhat unbelievably, that evidently extends to sightings of massive snakes in the wild.
A user took the bait in the r/InterestingAsF*** subreddit, sharing a video purportedly showing a hiker going through the Pantanal in Brazil and speaking to the camera after coming across a ginormous snake hanging out in a creek.
A few astute Redditors were quick to point out that things weren’t as they seemed.
"This video belongs to the owner of Piton, he is famous for showing his snake in different tim…
Even before getting into the emerging minefield of videos generated by artificial intelligence, there was always uncertainty about whether user-generated content was real or staged. Somewhat unbelievably, that evidently extends to sightings of massive snakes in the wild.
A user took the bait in the r/InterestingAsF*** subreddit, sharing a video purportedly showing a hiker going through the Pantanal in Brazil and speaking to the camera after coming across a ginormous snake hanging out in a creek.
A few astute Redditors were quick to point out that things weren’t as they seemed.
"This video belongs to the owner of Piton, he is famous for showing his snake in different times and places, it is 100% entertainment," they said. The link checks out after seeing a different version of the same footage on the TikTok page of Clau Souza (@clausouza4399), the owner.
A Redditor followed with some logical follow-ups: "How can someone own a snake this big? Where can you keep it?"
"Very big vivarium and lots of time getting it out," a user replied. "Ideally, the viv is at least as long as the snake, so for this, you’d essentially need a personal little zoo enclosure."
Meanwhile, the Burmese python is an invasive and destructive species. It has no business being in Brazil, so it’s for the best that the snake wasn’t genuinely taking residence there.
However, seeing them taken as exotic pets and brought around the world is frustrating in any case. The situation gets even worse if the snakes manage to escape and wreak havoc outside of their native ecosystem.
The problem is especially bad in South Florida, where invasive Burmese pythons have severely threatened local wildlife like foxes, bobcats, opossums, raccoons, and rabbits.
Florida is taking drastic steps to eradicate the problem, including numerous challenges and programs to incentivize hunting the animals. Still, the scale of the problem and its massive ripple effects on local wildlife show why Burmese pythons shouldn’t be used as pets or props in would-be viral videos.
Commenters on Reddit were alarmed by the footage.
"This guy could eat my entire family and still have room to bring my dogs along with as dessert," a viewer remarked.
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"It’s actually a pretty big problem in Florida," one said of the animals getting out into the wild.
"A huge ecological problem as well," a different user added. "The small mammal population in the Everglades has plummeted."
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