Experts say the more than 12-foot-long snakeskin found near the Presumpscot River in Westbrook earlier this month came from an anaconda.

“It’s a 100 percent match for an anaconda,” John Placyk, a University of Texas at Tyler herpetologist, told the Bangor Daily News. “If it’s a green anaconda, you’ve got a snake that could potentially get to 20 feet long.”

The discovery of the massive snakeskin follows a pair of reported sightings of a large snake in Westbrook.

In June, police received a report of a snake "as long as a truck" slithering near a playground in Riverbank Park. Just a few days later, two Westbrook police officers said they spotted a large snake eating what appeared to be a beaver.

Experts are unable to confirm whether the anaconda skin belongs to the snake spotted in Westbrook in June. Police say the snakeskin could have been planted there by someone.

While it's illegal to own an anaconda in Maine, it's not illegal to purchase an anaconda snakeskin.

Placyk told the BDN anacondas are not venomous, but they may still pose a risk to small dogs, cats and very young children. The snake kills by wrapping itself around its prey and squeezing.

He said movie depictions of anacondas are unrealistic, and it's unlikely the snake would attack a child. An anaconda's first response to humans is to flee.

The snake is not likely to survive a cold Maine winter.

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