Snake Traps Removed from Lake Hopatcong Due to Lack of Evidence

Residents say they’ve seen it. A reptile expert out of Warren County says it swam between his legs. 

But the Department of Environmental Protection says there isn’t enough evidence that a reported 16-foot anaconda is slithering through the freshwater, and has removed its baited traps from the lake, according to njherald.com.

“We have no belief, at this point, there is an anaconda in Lake Hopatcong,” DEP spokesman Larry Ragonese said in the report. Ragonese also dismissed the purported sighting and contact made with the alleged snake by Gerald Andrejcak, assistant director of Common Sense for Animals in Warren County.

Andrejcak went searching for the serpent on July 17, and said the creature was not a boa constrictor, as originally thought, rather a green anaconda with a head the size of the reptile expert’s hand.

Andrejcak believes the snake is still on the loose in the lake and will continue his own search, njherald.com reported.

Rumors of the slithering swimmer began to grow in early July, with some residents saying they spotted the snake, likely a boa constrictor, somewhere between 14- and 20-feet in length. Animal Control Officer Dale Sloat told My9’s Chasing New Jersey he was concerned for small animals and babies that may be in the area of the lake.