A video of large snakes slithering through Piedmont Park is circulating, and many Atlanta residents are swallowing it whole.
The clip, reposted from a park patron by popular Instagram account ATL Scoop, shows at least two large snakes crawling through open park spaces. One section of the video shows a snake beginning to climb a utility pole next to a walking path, then zooms in on an equally large snake in the middle of a green space.
“That is (expletive) up,” a shocked onlooker can be heard saying repeatedly behind the camera.
Many are wondering how the reptiles ended up in the busy, sun-drenched greenspace in Midtown Atlanta. Did someone release their pets?
The mystery helped the video scale to the top of some viewers’ feeds Friday morning.
According to the Piedmont Park Conservancy, which manages the park, the visitors are indeed domesticated pets that are not in compliance with park policies.
“The Piedmont Park Conservancy is aware of an individual who has recently brought his domesticated pet snakes to the park,” a representative for the organization said in a statement. “City of Atlanta policy maintains that all animals brought to the park need to be on a leash or contained. The Atlanta Police Department and Fulton County Animal Control are aware of the situation. Any park-goer who sees an animal off-leash or not contained is encouraged to report the situation to the City of Atlanta by dialing 311.”
Atlanta resident Melissa Stamp also helped answer some of the slipperiest questions. In a call with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, she said she recognized a man briefly seen wearing a black T-shirt in the video from frequent trips to Piedmont Park and the Atlanta Beltline.
“I don’t know his name and I’ve never interacted with him, but I’ve seen him multiple times on the Beltline with multiple snakes,” she said.
According to Stamp, the man often hangs out in these popular gathering spaces with his exotic pets. He will allow passersby to hold the snakes or pose for pictures, then request tips in return, she said.
“I watched that video a few times because I was like, ‘This doesn’t make any sense,’” Stamp said. “These are obviously not garden snakes that are native to Georgia.”
Since they are apparently pets, there is not much recourse for Fulton County residents who come across non-native snakes in the open.
“Free roaming snakes are not within the purview of Fulton County animal services,” an agency spokesperson told the AJC. “We encourage members of the public to avoid approaching snakes if they encounter them.”
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