--- 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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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically.  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"}}]}] ```