A family in South Africa was shocked to discover Africa's most venomous snake hiding in their Christmas tree.
Having put up their tree hours earlier, Rob and Marcela Wild had been admiring their handy work when they noticed their two cats staring intently at the branches, according to CNN.
"The cats were peering into the tree and my wife said, 'There's probably a mouse in there somewhere,'" Rob told the outlet. But it was not a mouse lurking between the tinsel and baubles. Instead it was a boomslang which, according to the South African National Biodiversity Institute, can deliver a lethal bite if threatened. And while it is shy and seldom attacks, its venom is so potent that just a small dose can be fatal.
"I didn't know what it was at the time, but then I Googled what snakes are in our area and it came up immediately as a boomslang. I thought, Holy Moses, this is the king of all poisonous snakes," Rob explained.
Snake catcher Gerrie Heyns was called in to remove the snake from the family's property in the Western Cape. He confirmed to CNN that the snake was female and between 4.3 feet and 4.9 feet long. He said the snake stayed in the tree for roughly two hours before he arrived and "snake tongs" were used to handle it.
"Once I had it under control, the family came right up to see the snake. It didn't try to bite or be defensive because I gave it no reason to. A scary moment turned into an exciting moment for the children," Heyns said.
He was able to place the snake into a "snake tube" then take the reptile home, where he housed it overnight. Heyns released the animal back into the wild on Sunday. The snake was likely looking for food, water, or shelter when it entered the home.
"Probably when it saw the first movement it tried to escape into the nearest hiding place, which was the tree," he said.
Heyns added that bites from a boomslang are rare.
"They are very reluctant to bite but have just been demonized so much," he noted.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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