The largest living snake species known to science is the reticulated python. The heaviest is the green anaconda. Both of these snakes are formidable predators and worthy of respect.
But what if there was a larger snake? What if there was a snake so big, it made the reticulated python and the green anaconda look like tiny garter snakes by comparison? Well, there’s actually a good reason to think that a snake like that might exist.
This blog covers the validity of the existence of an undiscovered giant snake in the Congo.
The Alleged Encounter
The sighting took place in 1959, in the Katanga region of the Congo. Colonel Van Lierde completed a mission and was returning to base when he saw what appeared to be a snake at least 50 feet (15.2 meters) in length. He was riding in a helicopter with another person who took a photo of the animal.
They turned around and passed by the snake multiple times to verify what they saw. As they flew closer, the snake rose up around 10 feet off the ground, ready to strike at the helicopter.
Van Lierde described the snake as having brown and dark green scales. When it rose up to strike the helicopter, Van Lierde says the snake’s white underbelly was present.
The snake could be a living descendant of Gigantophis, an extinct enormous snake, or an oversized African rock python, the largest native snake to the area.
Reasons why this Seems Credible:
1. Credentials of the Witness
Most claims involving sightings of unbelievably large or totally unbelievable animals are usually made by people who aren’t the most credible. Many are made by people who don’t understand how easily the human mind can trick itself. Others simply lie to gain fame.
This claim is different.
Remy Van Lierde was already a decorated World War 2 veteran. Faking a claim like this to become more famous seems silly at best and possibly reputation ruining at worst. Not only that, but as a pilot, his experience with spatial recognition makes it unlikely that he would mistake something’s size. There was also someone else onboard to verify the encounter.
2. The Congo is Huge and Underdeveloped
The Congo is among the least developed countries in the world. It’s score on the Human Development Index is 0.479. Compare that to the India’s score of 0.63 and Japan’s score of 0.92. This means very few people have access to things like smart phones the way people in the developed world do.
The Congo is also enormous. For reference, it’s about three times bigger than Texas. A lot of its land is rainforest, with the Congo rainforest being the second largest in the world, behind the Amazon. There are lots of places that a large animal can hide in this country.
Much of the Congo is covered by rainforest like this
3. The Photo was Analyzed by Experts
Remy Van Lierde had the photo examined by Lorenzo W. Burroughs, a CIA captain who headed the National Photographic Interpretations Center. It would be very difficult to fake a photo that could pass this level of scrutiny.
The photo has possible objects in it for scaling as well. The upper left had large termite mounds, that if used for scaling, lines up with the alleged size of the snake.
Here’s the full photo. Look at the upper left to see the termite mounds for scale
Reasons to Doubt the Claim:
1. No Subsequent Photos
The most obvious reason to doubt this claim is the lack of subsequent evidence. A snake this large would have a difficult time remaining undetected. Even in an undeveloped country like the Congo, getting another photo of this snake shouldn’t be hard. A snake this large could be spotted by other aircraft flying over the region.
Yet where are the new photos?
2. Lack of other physical evidence
Proof that a snake exists doesn’t just come down to taking a picture of a live snake. There are other types of empirical evidence that would prove it exists.
Snakes shed their skin. A snake this large would leave behind shed skin so large it would be impossible to miss. Lots of snakes also lay eggs. Wouldn’t snakes this large leave large eggs that could easily be found? Where are the giant snake bones or the giant snake trails left in the mud? So far, none of these have appeared.
3. Credible People Aren’t Always Reliable
Despite this claim having much more credibility than almost any other sightings of incredible, unknown animals, that doesn’t mean that they aren’t wrong. Smart people can be fooled just like anyone. There are doctors and scientists who believe in nonsense conspiracy theories.
Experts can be wrong. You should always take their claims more seriously than others, but it doesn’t mean that they can’t be wrong.
Conclusion:
The mystery of the giant snake in the Congo continues. Today, there is still no unambiguous evidence that a snake of this size exists. However, the encounter that Remy Van Lierde claimed to have had, is still among the most credible and believable.
