A boa constrictor was spotted slithering along a telephone wire in Anglesey after slipping out of its tank and climbing out of an open window.
The serpent, whose cousins in the wilds of the Americas are keen climbers, wound its way to the gutters of a house on the other side of the street. Then it vanished.
Its desperate owner and officers from North Wales police’s rural crime unit spent half an hour searching for the snake before it reappeared, this time on a second telephone cable.
Realising that there may not be another chance to recapture the creature, the owner took drastic action and used a long broom handle to tip it off the wire. It fell and found a soft landing in its owner’s arms.
Impressive picture of a snake making its escape from its tank at a house on Anglesey last year. Make them secure. pic.twitter.com/x50BSAYrR5
— Sgt Rob Taylor (@NWPRuralCrime) July 6, 2015
Sgt Rob Taylor tweeted the pictures, taken last year, after another recent incident involving an escaped snake, this time in Prestatyn. He said: “With the weather this time of year they become a bit more lively and want to venture out.
“It’s a timely reminder that people keep these sorts of animals. They are kept legally but they can be dangerous and they need to be kept under proper conditions.”
He said his tweet saying the snake was recaptured after slithering down the outside of a drain pipe was incorrect.
It made it across to the next house but was later recovered coming down the outside of the drain pipe. #scary pic.twitter.com/3NjsFDFg3c
— Sgt Rob Taylor (@NWPRuralCrime) July 6, 2015
Native to North, Central and South America, boa constrictors are large, heavy-bodied snakes with highly distinctive colour patterns that can reach lengths of up to almost 4m (13ft) and can weigh up to 27kg (60lb).
Younger specimens can climb into trees and shrubs, but as they become older and heavier they are increasingly terrestrial. They may bite when they perceive a threat, but they are not venomous and a nip, while painful, is rarely dangerous to humans.
Follow @NWPRuralCrime for more animal-related hijinks in north Wales.
