The incident occurred when the man reached a Maui vacation rental in Pukalani from Virginia and put down his backpack on the floor
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A 20-year-old man travelling from Florida to Hawaii experienced a terrifying moment when a small snake slithered out of his backpack after arriving his destination. The incident occurred when the man reached a Maui vacation rental in Pukalani from Virginia and put down his backpack on the floor.
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However, the snake was captured immediately, the owner of the rental informed the visitor that snakes are illegal in Hawaii. Soon Maui police were informed about the incident and the officials contacted a doctor. Thereafter, the snake was detained the same night and it was delivered to the Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA).
A small snake apparently hitchhiked to Maui in a visitor's backpack Monday night. Fortunately, it was captured and turned in. See news release: https://t.co/ct9G0RtVS9 pic.twitter.com/K9gg2UKNUE
— Hawaii Dept of Ag (@hdoapio) June 12, 2019
HDOA released a press release about the incident. In the press release, it was revealed that the snake, identified as a non-venomous southern black racer, is a newborn reptile. It is about a foot long and brown in colour. Such snakes are generally found in Florida and consume frogs, lizards, snakes, rodents and birds.
According to HDOA inspectors, the snake secretly crept into the man's bag and he certainly wasn't transporting it to Hawaii. They learned it after interogating him.
"It is fortunate that the owner of the rental was aware of the seriousness of the snake being transported to Hawaii and took appropriate action and reported it," Phyllis Shimabukuro-Geiser, Chairperson of the Hawaii Board of Agriculture, said as per the press release.
In another case, snake catchers in Australia have rescued a python which was found covered in over 500 ticks. A video posted online showed the reptile, which was believed to be ill, coated in the parasites in a backyard swimming pool on the Gold Coast in Queensland, the BBC reported on Friday.
Also Read: Watch video: Man gets bitten by snake as he rings doorbell
A professional handler removed the snake and took it for treatment at a wildlife clinic, the report said. Vets removed more than 500 ticks, snake catcher Tony Harris told the BBC, and it was expected to recover. Harris said he believed the snake had been trying to drown the ticks in the pool.
Also Read: Toilet horror: Snake hiding in pot bites woman's bottom
The presence of such a large amount of ticks indicated that the snake was likely to have an underlying illness, possibly due to heat stress or drought conditions, the report said.
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