HIPPO EATS DWARF:
A Field Guide to Hoaxes
and Other B.S.
hippo
FM
Hoop Snake
Kingdom: Animalia
Location found: North America and Australia
image Sightings of hoop snakes have been reported since colonial times in North America and for at least the past century in Australia. This snake grasps its tail in its mouth and rolls after its prey, thereby achieving great speed, especially when going downhill. Hoop snakes have been clocked going over 60 m.p.h. At the tip of its tail is a highly venomous stinger, making this a creature to be avoided at all costs. It is the only species of snake known to have a stinger on its tail, and this stinger is so poisonous that even if it strikes a tree, the tree will instantly wither, turn black, and die.

If you should encounter a hoop snake in the wild, the best defense is to run as fast as you can and hope to find a fence to leap over. The hoop snake will have to uncoil to get through the fence, thereby slowing it down. Some have reported that diving through the hoop of the snake will cause it to run away. This, however, has never been verified.
Total Comments: 7

Comments
Listed in chronological order. Newest comments at the end.
Page 1 of 1 pages
Rolling after me,
A giant,speeding hoop snake
thank goodness it's missed me
Posted by J  on  Wed Nov 15, 2006  at  10:42 AM
Maybe the last line could be changed to: thank goodness, it missed.

That would make it five syllables.
Posted by Alex  in  San Diego  on  Wed Nov 15, 2006  at  07:23 PM
Alex,thanks for the suggestion.I agree it was writtenslight ly wrong
Posted by J  on  Mon Nov 20, 2006  at  12:33 PM
Interestingly,this legend seems to have it's roots in reality.Some species of snake curl into a hoop shape for unknown reasons. This is remarkably similar to the amphisbaena of myth.This half-bird half-snake would put it's tail in it's mouth and roll away from danger.
Posted by Thisisnotadrillalienshaveinvadedtheplanetearth  on  Mon May 28, 2007  at  11:55 PM
This kind of snake appears frequently in Swedish folklore too, where it is often called "Hjulorm" or "Lindorm". A Swedish scientist that did research in folklore, Gunnar Olof Hyltén-Cavallius, put out a reward 1884 to anyone that could catch or kill one of these snakes.
Posted by Robin Bruhn  in  Sweden (Lund)  on  Thu Nov 22, 2007  at  06:01 PM
Hoop Snakes are NOT hoaxes! I live in PA in the country and have seen these back in the late 60's, but none since. They may have died out, or are just very rare. You can read a true encounter I had with one, one summer with my dad, here:
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Dreaded-Pennsylvania-Hoop-Snake&id=1030006
Posted by Robert  in  Pennsylvania  on  Sun Jul 06, 2008  at  10:14 AM
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Posted by thisisnotadrillmybuttisonfireandineedsomeointment  in  asdfasdfasd  on  Tue Dec 30, 2008  at  04:37 PM
Page 1 of 1 pages

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HOAX HAIKU
Rolling after me,
A giant,speeding hoop snake
thank goodness it's missed me
(by J)

Write a haiku about the Hoop Snake, and submit it in the comments. If I like it, I'll post it above.

The definition of a haiku: a short, three line poem. The first line has five syllables, the second seven, and the third five. Examples here, here, and here.