Family discovers "Queen of the Poisonous Snakes" in their Christmas tree
Created: 12/23/2021, 5:20 PM
From: Marcus Giebel
Actually anything but aggressive: Boomslang is considered highly poisonous, but shy.
© IMAGO / YAY Images
A family from South Africa did not want this visitor in their house over Christmas.
A poisonous snake was hiding in the decorated tree.
The house cats gave the decisive clue.
Munich - Surprises are particularly welcome at Christmas.
A family from South Africa could have done without this.
After the Christmas tree was set up and decorated in the house, Rob and Marcela Wild discovered a venomous snake between the branches *, as
reported by
CNN
.
The British stock exchange trader and his wife from Costa Rica discovered the dangerous animal with the help of their cats.
They were the first to notice the presence of the uninvited house guest.
"You kept peeking into the tree and at one point my wife said: 'Maybe there is a mouse in there.'"
Snake in the Christmas tree: "Holy Moses, this is the queen of the poisonous snakes"
Close miss. Rather, during her inspection she discovered an African tree snake that had made itself comfortable in the Christmas tree and attracted the cats' attention. "At the moment I didn't even know what it was, but when I googled which species of snakes are native to our area and came across it, I thought: 'Holy Moses, this is the queen of poisonous snakes'," said the 55 -year-old landlord continues.
The so-called boomslang is diurnal and mostly lives in trees and bushes.
Because of its green color, it can camouflage itself perfectly there.
It feeds mainly on chameleons, tree-dwelling lizards, birds, their nestlings and eggs as well as frogs.
Their venom is considered to be extremely effective, but because the species is shy, humans are only bitten in very rare cases.
However, such attacks were fatal.
Snake in the Christmas tree: summoned catcher initially believes in a joke
The Wilds would have dared to approach a mouse themselves, but they called a snake catcher to help with this tree dweller. Gerry Heyns, who initially believed it was a joke, advised the family of four to stay away from the tree, but keep an eye on the snake. On site, he identified the animal as a female specimen with a length of 1.30 meters to 1.50 meters.
"The snake had been in the tree for about two hours when I arrived," Heyns said, according to
CNN
.
With a pair of snake tongs, which he put on the ground, he succeeded in luring the reptile out of its hiding place.
“After I had the snake under control, the family immediately came closer to look at it,” the 49-year-old expert continued: “They neither tried to bite nor defend themselves because I gave them no reason to have.
This is how a moment of horror turned into an exciting moment for the children. "
Snake in Christmas Tree: Probably looking for food or shelter
Heyns transported his catch to his home in a suitable container, where the snake first found shelter in the face of the darkness before he released it into the wilderness.
The Boomslang probably came into the house in search of food or shelter and fled into the tree when they first noticed movement.
Heyns, who claims to have only been bitten once in eight years in his job - by an injured snake who only wanted to defend itself - gave
another important tip
via the
South West News Service
: "I would like to emphasize that that they are extremely peaceful snakes, not aggressive, and that they want to be left alone.
If you see one in a tree, just leave it there. ”
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