File photo of a green anaconda. A reptile expert says a green anaconda up to 16 feet long is on the loose in the Lake Hopatcong in New Jersey. (Credit: ClipArt.com) File photo of a green anaconda. A reptile expert says a green anaconda up to 16 feet long is on the loose in the Lake Hopatcong in New Jersey. (Credit: ClipArt.com)

HOPATCONG, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — A reptile specialist leading the search for a snake on the loose in Lake Hopatcong now says it is a green anaconda, not a boa constrictor, as officials had maintained.

Gerald Andrejcak told NJ.com that he was told by a local animal control officer to keep quiet about the true species to avoid raising public panic.

Andrejcak said in the past few weeks of searching, he saw the snake once, estimating it to be up to 16 feet long with a head the size of a human.