--- title: Giant Snake Loose in Maine: Wessie the Python description: A 10-foot snakeskin found on the bank of the Presumpscot River in Maine has put the town on the lookout for what could be a giant python canonical: https://time.com/4461569/python-loose-maine-10-feet/ author: Julia Zorthian article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-22T18:04:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:35:43.663Z og:title: There’s a Giant Snake Loose in Maine and His Name Is Wessie og:description: He even has a Twitter account og:url: https://time.com/4461569/python-loose-maine-10-feet/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: There’s a Giant Snake Loose in Maine and His Name Is Wessie twitter:description: He even has a Twitter account twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # There’s a Giant Snake Loose in Maine and His Name Is Wessie > Sponsored content. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement.  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Aug 22, 2016 6:04 PM UTC  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Aug 22, 2016 6:04 PM UTC A 10-foot snakeskin found on the bank of the Presumpscot River in Maine on Saturday has put the town on the lookout for what may be a giant python on the loose. Residents of Westbrook, Maine have reported [scattered sightings](http://upnorthlive.com/news/offbeat/maine-police-dept-not-joking-about-large-snake-spotted-in-town) of what they’ve named “Wessie,” a giant snake, over the past few weeks, but those reports had died down until the Saturday discovery. The Westbrook Police said in a Facebook post that experts would determine the snake’s species using a sample of the skin. “Until the type of snake is determined and we can assess the safety risk,” the police office said, “we caution people who recreate along the Presumpscot River to remain alert, maintain a safe distance from any wildlife.” While police are taking the skin seriously, experts have noted that snakes rarely shed their skin and leave it like that; a person could have placed it there deliberately, the [Washington _Post_ reports](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/08/22/maine-town-transfixed-by-wessie-a-10-foot-python-reportedly-on-the-loose/). A [June 23 police report](https://www.facebook.com/WestbrookPD/photos/a.10150196216474958.316643.56017009957/10153865234849958/?type=3&theater) said an officer spotted the snake eating what appeared to be a beaver. Since people first saw Wessie near a playground in June, the snake has earned a fanbase in the town—with people even setting up [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/wessiethepython/) and [Twitter profiles](https://twitter.com/wessiethon) for the elusive reptile. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4461569/python-loose-maine-10-feet/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4461569/python-loose-maine-10-feet/"},"headline":"There’s a Giant Snake Loose in Maine and His Name Is Wessie","datePublished":"2016-08-22T18:04:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:35:43.663Z","description":"He even has a Twitter account","url":"https://time.com/4461569/python-loose-maine-10-feet/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4461569/python-loose-maine-10-feet/","name":"There’s a Giant Snake Loose in Maine and His Name Is Wessie"}}]}] ```