The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium has purchased what is reportedly the largest snake in captivity. Fluffy, a 24-foot-long python, cost the zoo $35,000. Fluffy’s previous owner, an Oklahoma City python breeder named Bob Clark, drove a hard bargain. The snake, as thick as a telephone pole, was on loan to the zoo for several months but proved to be a huge attraction. From the Columbus Dispatch:
The zoo’s animals generally come as exchanges from other zoos or through breeding loans or donations, so money doesn’t often change hands, (zoo executive director Jerry) Borin said. But the zoo sometimes purchases animals, such as three kangaroos recently bought for a total of $15,000.
Clark is happy with Fluffy’s outcome.
“I really love that snake; I think it’s a special animal,” he said. “It’s so big and tame and wonderful. But I have to deal with the realities of life like everyone else. I like to have the money, and I know she’s got a great place to live there.”