Reptile specialist reveals he was told to 'keep quiet' about a 16-foot green anaconda on the loose in New Jersey's largest freshwater lake
- Reptile expert Gerald Andrejcak said he saw it in a boat house Thursday
- Identified the snake as a green anaconda
- Said local authorities asked him not to tell anyone to 'prevent public panic'
- They are not venomous
An anaconda is on the loose in New Jersey's biggest freshwater lake - and a reptile specialist says he was 'sworn to keep his mouth shut by local officials' for one week while he searches for it.
The snake - estimated to be about 15 or 16 feet in length - has been known to locals and boats around Lake Hopatcong for the last few weeks, however it was reported to be a boa constrictor.
But now Gerald Andrejcak, one of the men tasked with trying to capture the animal - the world's heaviest and one of the world's longest snakes - says he was 'sworn to secrecy' about revealing that it was a green anaconda.
'I've known its species (since last week), but I was sworn to keep my mouth shut by local officials to avoid causing a panic,' he told NJ.com.
On the loose: A green anaconda, estimated to be between 15 and 16 feet long, has been sighted numerous times in Lake Hopatcong in New Jersey
On the prowl: Reptile specialist Gerald Andrejcak took it upon himself to search for the snake after seeing the media reports, and later identified it as a green anaconda
Lake Hopatcong is New Jersey's largest body of freshwater/ It is 30 miles from Delaware River, 40 miles from New York City and located within both Sussex and Morris counties
'Now that there's a panic, I'm going on the record.'
Andrejcak said he saw the snake in a boat house attached to a property on South New Avenue on Thursday.
However the snake quickly entered the water and evaded its captors.
Andrejcak, Jefferson Township animal control officer Naomi Modafferi and Steve Vil, Andrejcak's assistant, searched boat houses, a storm drain and other areas of the shoreline.
Andrejcak, who has a degree in zoology and more than 20 years experience handling and breeding large snakes, said he began following the snake sightings via news reports and Facebook last week.
After seeing it, he informed Hopatcong animal control officer Dale Sloat that he believed it was a green anaconda, contrary to the reports of a boa constrictor.
Sloat then asked him not to disclose the species or to tell anyone, Andrejcak said.
Sloat had already been interviewed by local media, warning people not to approach or touch the snake if they see it.
'This big a snake would be aggressive,' he told CBS.
The news caused great distress to locals.
'There's kids swimming in the lake, there's going to be people in the water this weekend, and my kids can't go in their backyard,' Tony Colantonio, who rents a property on the lake and says he has seen it, told NJ.com.
Lake Hopatcong is a popular swimming, boating and fishing destination, so the news of an anaconda has worried locals
'It's a green anaconda, a predator, hunting all day every day.'
'It's not a python that lives 80 percent of its life on land and only needs to eat once a month.
'It's one of the most aggressive snakes out there.
'It's been two weeks and (the township and state) have done nothing.
'Everybody I call just blows me off.'
Green anacondas are not venomous.
Sloat has also expressed scepticism about the snake.
'No officials have seen this snake, and you know how people exaggerate,' he told the site.
Andrejcak said he asked Sloat to use trash cans as traps for the snake before he came up to search for the snake on Thursday.
But when Andrejak arrived on Thursday, the cans hadn't been purchased.
Reptile specialist Gerald Andrejcak says he is surprised at the way local authorities have handled the situation
While Andrejcak's main fear is that harm will come to the snake, the feeling is not mutual among locals.
'If someone can kill it and get out of here that's fine,' Colantonio said.
'I want proof that it's gone.'
Green anacondas can grow to be more than 29 feet in length and weigh more than 550 pounds, according to an animal fact sheet on NationalGeographic.com.
They typically live in swamps, marshes and slow-moving streams, mainly in South America.