SANTEE, S.C. — A Sumter Facebook post over the weekend had community members buzzing or should we say 'hissing'.
The post was about a potential python sighting on Lake Marion.
“Birds, gators. Turtles, catfish, there's all kinds of fish out there,” Gary Wekly and Chester Branch, two frequent boaters said.
Lake Marion is home to several creatures, but a python probably isn't one of them.
Wekly and Branch said they boat on the lake at least three times a week. They said they’ve seen slithering creatures, but never any pythons.
“We see a few snakes out there. Mostly water snakes,” Branch said.
A Facebook post had someone claiming to have seen a python near a floating dock at John C Land Landing on Lake Marion.
The post said the snake was curled up.
We took the claim to South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) and the department said they couldn't talk on-camera for an interview but sent a statement and answered questions regarding the snake sighting.
According to the department, it sent an officer to check out the snake.
The department said the officer said, “The snake was not a python but a native, nonvenomous water snake”.
The department added that pythons can become a problem if they mate and reproduce in a non-native state like South Carolina.