Snakes on a cell tower anyone?

[Kennah]

http://www.cnet.com/news/snakes-on-a-cell-tower-t-mobile-photo-full-of-nope/?part=propeller&subj=news&tag=link

There are some things you just hope to never see while you're working. A writhing bundle of snakes is one of those things (unless you're a herpetologist). A T-Mobile field engineer climbed up a cell tower and made a discovery that will give some people nightmares: a mass of snakes all coiled around each other and the tower equipment.
...
T-Mobile confirmed the image is real, but didn't share any further details other than that is was taken at a height of 125 feet (38 meters) up on the tower. The field engineer appeared to be a reasonable distance away from the snakes when the photo was taken, if that makes you feel any better.

[wryter2000]

1. Dang

Can't tell what kind of snakes they are or even where it was taken.

Love snakes. 😃

[Richard D]

12. Looks like some sort of poisonous snake

Got the head shape for it.

[Richard D]

13. actually . . .

looking at it at 200%, it looks like areas have been selectively blurred. Strange.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

33. Actually, I am an amateur herpetologist;

And I know snakes would not be massed on some steel structure that high in the air, unless some idiot placed them there for photographic foolishness: No natural reason to expose themselves to snake-eating birds; No food; No water; No way to maintain their body temperature, because they are cold-blooded.

The image resembles Northern Garter Snakes emerging from mass hibernation, deep underground.

[TygrBright]

2. And this is freakout-worthy... why?

Not sure which variety they are- looks like some kind of racer. Most snakes are nonvenomous and most of the venomous varieties have distinctive markings/morphology that makes them fairly readily identifiable.

Fear of snakes baffles me. They're mostly shy, and they're extremely useful, helpful critters in general.

bewilderedly,
Bright

[whathehell]

4. Because many, if not most, of us are afraid of snakes?

Rational or not, they just push some primal fear button.

[Jim Beard]

42. I don't know what fear it is but I feel the same.

I had rather have a ferret catch rodents. Nice warm blooded creatures.

[Laffy Kat]

9. Look like king snakes to me, although they are hard to make out.

Wonder if they worked their way up there for the heat? It almost looks like a nest or mating event. Cool.

[TygrBright]

11. That's what I was thinking... "follow the sun"...

...to find a nice warm place for a mating bundle.

And in this case, the sun just happened to lead "up."

Wonder if they'll try to nest there?

Could begin a whole new set of speciation behavior patterns...

interestedly,
Bright

[Jeffersons Ghost]

36. King Snakes are extremely cannibalistic, although markings are similar...

The bodies of these snakes differ from King Snakes in North America. I've caught and released dozens of King Snakes and never even seen one in a tree, much less high on a hot metal tower, in full sunlight.

Mating Lampropeltis getula is extremely tricky in captivity, because they fight, viciously, or eat each other, if not put together at precisely the right time of year. After mating, the couple must be separated immediately.

[PasadenaTrudy]

15. I love snakes

Always have. Had several as pets too.

[tblue37]

18. Me too. nt

[wryter2000]

20. Me, too

Gorgeous animals. I have a pet corn snake, but I wish I had the ability to have a larger snake.

[RebelOne]

31. Me also. I had 2 boa constrictors for pets.

[Takket]

26. because snakes are evil

blah blah garden of Eden blah blah forbidden fruit something something. mostly superstitious nonsense.

That being said I'm no snake species expert and until I know if it is poisonous or not, seeing a snake would scare the heck outta me!

[Jeffersons Ghost]

34. It's hard to tell. They could be an photoshop imitation of some kind of Asian Viper

Their heads seem too wide for Garter Snakes; but the markings are similar. It's nice to see a comment from another naturalist, who realizes that snakes are a necessary part of the ecosystem, unless we want a massive amount of disease carrying rodents overpopulating the planet.

[TheCowsCameHome]

3. That's just f*ing dandy -

125 feet in the air and coming face to face with that.

[Major Nikon]

5. I worked on communication towers for many years

Buzzards, yes. Squirrels, yes. Starlings and pigeons that shit on everything, yes. Never once saw a snake.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

35. My point exactly! And, who climbed a cellular tower - ILLEGALLY - to take this picture?

[JoePhilly]

6. Were they trying to get free cell minutes?

Why would they be up there?

[SCantiGOP]

7. Warmth off the coils

But they will have to remove them, sometimes snakes or squirrels make a circuit and, in addition to getting fried, they blow out an expensive piece of equipment.

[Glamrock]

14. Yep yep

I opened up an A/C panel at cell site and found a snake inside.......cooked! Pretty gross.

[awoke_in_2003]

16. I opened up a residential A coil

and saw a racoon. Racoon, me, in small area. I almost had a heart attack. It was dead and frozen, but I didn't notice that right away.

[Glamrock]

27. I hope you weren't on a ladder!

Though I'm guessing you were in a bucket or you wouldn't be here to tell the tale....

[awoke_in_2003]

29. I was a closet

mounted AC unit.

[Go Vols]

8. cool

[Warren DeMontague]

10. Oh, hell no.

[tavernier]

17. So you don't want them in your yard

or you'll beat them to death with a rock. You don't want them on a path in the woods where you seldom go, but if by chance you do, you'll hit them with a stick. So finally, the poor things go somewhere where they won't be in anyone's way or line of vision, and suddenly here comes a guy in a crane. With a camera. And a million people on the internet screaming in fear and searching around for a bigger rock... Just in case.

And you think your life is rough.

[Nac Mac Feegle]

30. Ummmm..

At 125 ft, you're NOT going to be on a crane or in a bucket. You will have climbed to get there on a cell tower. Some people are, to use technical terms, Freaked The Fuck OUT by snakes (yours truly included), especially when come upon unexpectedly, as in this case.

Imagine: you've climbed 125 feet up a tower, in a harness, changing your clips every other step, and you see something moving out of the corner of your eye. You look at the RFU stack on the antenna array, and see it CRAWLING WITH SNAKES. The biggest question to ask is whether your underwear survives the experience.

When a LOT younger and lighter, I did some tower work. I know that I would probably "unloaded" right there.



They just DON'T make smileys that convey the requisite emotions for this type of circumstance.

[tavernier]

32. Hahahahahahahahaha

Ok, you win.



(Bye the way, that's how I feel about crawly bug things.)

[Codeine]

40. At 125 feet I'd have already unloaded in sheer terror.

A couple snakes ain't nothin' compared to acrophobia.

[Solly Mack]

19. In my experience, some snakes like on high.

We used to shake them out of the trees in the evening so the older folks could sit out on the porch. This was during the summer months. Yes, the older folks had cover but none of them enjoyed the sound of snakes hitting the roof when they would drop back down as the sun set. So before the porch sitting began, all the kids and my Uncle would shake the trees for snakes and we usually got 7-10 a day out of the branches.

Cotton and corn farming in south Georgia, years ago, and the house was surrounded by huge oaks and other trees. Lots of snakes, always non-venomous, that climbed the trees for the sun. (and food)

The venomous snakes were out back down by the 3 fishing ponds, or along the trail to the fishing ponds. (and everywhere else, really)

I thought everyone knew snakes could - and would - climb.

And, no - the snakes were not harmed.

[pinboy3niner]

21. Of course they like height

Who doesn't know about snakes on a plane?

Thanks for your story. Something ordinary for you is very foreign to many of us.

[Solly Mack]

23. I blame the slugs. I've been warped for life. :)

[Glassunion]

22. Fixed it the only way I know how

[Younemeen]

24. savage

hahahahhaha, although I'm so afraid of snakes I still think that it is too cruel but that's funny

[Glassunion]

25. In actuality, I love snakes. They are cool.

Spiders on the other hand, trigger something visceral in me that defies logic and reason. I leave them alone, and give a wide berth. But if they move in the least, I freak out.

I was riding my motorcycle once, going about 50 or so on a winding country road, and a spider crawled along the inside of my visor an inch from my eyes. It then crawled up into the headliner where I could feel it moving along the top of my scalp. Not wrecking the motorcycle was the most "manly" thing I've ever done.

[Codeine]

28. My kids are like that despite my best efforts.

My daughter wouldn't enter the laundry room unescorted for a year or so because she saw a spider there once, and my son insisted we throw away his bicycle helmet because a daddy longlegs spider made a temporary home in it.

[Younemeen]

38. something like this?

Can't insert image. how to put an image here?

[Codeine]

41. Just place the URL of the image.

Usually it'll pop right up.

[Younemeen]

44. thanks, now i'm going to try it and put the image there

[url=https://postimg.org/image/gu8v4z4xp/][img][/img][/url]

[Codeine]

47. Worth the wait.

[Younemeen]

45. i've done it, i've done it

hurraaaaay

[Younemeen]

37. very very similar situation

hahahaha, brave you something very and very similar happened to me. going with 50 +- and then i've seen a spider crawling right before my eyes in my car and then starting crawling on the front window. a fu**ing giant spider hit the breaks immediately and went out of the car trying to make that spider get out of my car I do love animals, but I can't stand things like spider or centipedes... ugggh

[Younemeen]

39. how you've placed an image?

please?

[Jim Beard]

43. A perfect solution!

[pinboy3niner]

46. BREAKING: Are_grits_groceries discovered how they got up there

Woooo! Stay woke! Birds are up to some serious shite!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028135119