The Dukes of Cambridge, among exotic animals 0:57
(CNN) -
Staff at a UK wildlife hospital were shocked when they responded to a call about an unusual creature, which turned out to be an aggressive and deadly snake.
A call from a local masonry company alerted a team of animal experts to a stowaway snake that arrived in a shipping container from India, the South Essex Wildlife Hospital explained in a series of messages on Twitter.
"As it was identified as a saw-scale viper and as we had one before, we fully understood the severity of how dangerous these reptiles are, they are way up the top of the few deadliest snakes," the hospital wrote.
Sawscale vipers are found in arid regions and dry savannas north of the equator, across Africa, Saudi Arabia, and southwestern Asia to India and Sri Lanka.
The team put the deadly snake in a box and sealed the room with duct tape to be safe.
These snakes, which reach up to a meter in length, are considered very dangerous due to their irritable and aggressive nature and their lethal venom.
In the regions where they are found, these creatures are believed to be responsible for more human deaths than all other snake species combined.
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When agitated, the saw-scale vipers move slowly, their bodies curled into S-shaped folds, rubbing their scales to emit their characteristic hiss.
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Hospital founder Sue Schwar told CNN that the people who found the snake were "very lucky" not to have died.
"Being a reptile and having probably spent many, many weeks in a container. It was probably quite cold, which was lucky for them, because reptiles need to warm up to be active," he said.
"At the time, thank goodness, she was probably quite tame, but she was already quite aggressive when the team picked her up."
Although authorities were called in, no one came, so the hospital had to dispatch reptile experts to pick up "the very agitated and aggressive animal before someone was likely to die," the South Essex Wildlife Hospital said.
The team managed to get the animal into a locked box and tape-sealed the room it was in and posted warning signs waiting for it to be picked up by a suitable facility, they said.
"We are glad that we don't have to deal with poisonous creatures too often, but we are saddened by the snake for not being able to release it and bring it back home," added the wild animal hospital.
Poisonous snake
