A New Jersey social studies teacher says a python snake, similar to the one above, has been an unwelcome guest in his backyard. (Reuters)
WEST MILFORD, N.J. – Summer vacation has been anything but routine for a New York City social studies teacher who lives in northern New Jersey.
James Geist has spotted pythons twice within days in his West Milford yard.
Geist, 46, was reading on his deck when he thought he saw a branch move on July 23. He soon realized it was a snake.
Police arrived with two snake handlers who told Geist the branch was a 15-foot albino python.
"Dispatch told me to stay away, and I’m not a fan of snakes so I wasn't going to go near the thing," Geist told The Bergen Record.
Geist tells The Record newspaper the snake was huge, thick and docile. Two snake handlers who arrived on scene with police, estimated the snake worth about $8,000, The Record reported.
Four days later, Geist saw another snake. This time it was a 10-foot python.
Animal control believes the tropical snakes were released by someone who had moved from the neighborhood.
"I would rather face a black bear than a python," he told the paper.
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