The Nabau Lives (Maybe)

A picture is worth 1,000 words? Well, I guess it depends on the picture. There are a couple making the rounds today that may (or may not) provide evidence of a rumored but never proven giant snake in Borneo. The Nabau theoretically lives in the Baleh River, which is where both of the photos were ostensibly snapped. The better of the pics shows up in the Daily Mail. If you look at the size of the trees on the jungle shores, that's one massive snake! The second picture, from the Telegraph, isn't quite so impressive, but it's still a pretty large snake.

So are these photos real, with no shenanigans? Benjamin Radford, the "bad science" columnist for LiveScience throws cold water on the whole idea. He wonders how we even know that these photos are of the Baleh River at all? And, of course, we don't. These could be giant snakes in other rivers altogether. But these photos got him wondering:

Of course it's possible the photographer just got lucky, capturing the giant snake at its most photogenic both times, but that raises another question: If the huge beast spends its time in such high-visibility areas, why is this the first time it's been reported or photographed?

Unfortunately, these are photos, not an interview, so no one could ask the giant snake about the details. Perhaps it has a new movie coming out and its starting a new PR campaign. We just don't know. And unfortunately, unless the Nabau keeps up its recent high profile, we may never get proper answers.