I knew the guy who was killed by the Retic in Indiana (his name was Patrick Von Allmen). He was a member of the KY Herp Society and his demise was very unfortunate.

As far as intelligent snakes go.....I think the term "intelligence" should be used relatively when speaking about snakes. The species with the most reputation for being "smart" are Retics, Scrubs and various Elapids. I don't think I would ever associate a Boa Constrictor with being even semi-intelligent. Pure and simply, they are dumb as rocks lol.