Brian,
I figured you would have said rattlesnakes. The 8 ft snake story reminds me of a guy bushhogging a field several years ago here close by and hit something. Turned around to look and seen a snake raise its head up out of the weeds. Poor fella tore off to the house on the tractor and called animal control. They showed up and found a dead 11 ft. python! Come to find out it had escaped from a neighbors house back in the spring of that year. I think the local police chief has the skin of it tanned.

"I have not failed, I have only found 10,000 ways that won't work"
Thomas Edison