Adder At Clearwater
Julia C. Mead | April 3, 1997
Presumed misplaced or stolen, this preserved African puff adder, coiled up in a typical museum pose, was found last week at Clearwater Beach in Springs.
Among the most poisonous snakes in the world, the species is not native to Long Island. Andrew Sabin, president of the South Fork Natural History Society, said he guessed someone left it at the beach as a prank.
The society will keep the snake and include it in the traveling exhibit it takes to local schools, he said.
Snakes that are indigenous to Long Island are not poisonous, and should be treated kindly, he added. They eat mice, which carry ticks that carry Lyme disease.