An employee at a Market Basket in Manchester, New Hampshire stumbled upon more than just produce while unloading a shipment of bananas this past Saturday—a small venomous snake was among the bunch. New Hampshire Fish and Game identified the creature as an Ornate Cat-eyed Snake, a species indigenous to Ecuador. The discovery prompted a call to conservation officials, as reported by CBS News Boston.
While examining produce, it's not uncommon for unsuspecting critters to make their way into grocery stores, though venomous snakes like the one found are quite rare to encounter. After being found, the 8-inch snake, which did not pose a significant threat to humans, was safely relocated. It never had the opportunity to grace the store's shelves, finding itself instead under the care of Rainforest Reptile Shows, Inc.—a sanctuary that houses over 300 reptiles and educates the public about exotic animals.
Mack Ralbovsky from Rainforest Reptiles Shows told CBS News, "If you were to encounter the snake, say you were at that store, the venom that species has isn't something that is going to cause significant issues." New Hampshire Fish and Game extended their gratitude to the vigilant Market Basket employees and the helpful staff at Rainforest Reptile Shows in a statement.
According to MassLive report, this marked a unique incident for New Hampshire Fish and Game conservation officer Griffin McKeown, who mentioned to WMUR-TV, "We’ve had a few calls about pet surrenders of ball pythons and stuff like that, but never, never venomous snake. That’s definitely a first for me." The employee who discovered the snake, who was none the wiser about the find while handling the fruit shipment.
