It is never fun to discover an unwanted passenger in your car while you are driving down a busy road. It is even less fun when that passenger happens to be an enormous snake.
On May 21, a woman in the city of The Village, Oklahoma, was shocked to find a 4-foot rat snake on her windscreen while she was driving. She immediately called the local police force to help remove it.
"They were driving and the snake crawled out from under their hood onto their windshield," The Village Police Department told Newsweek. "This one was approximately 4 feet long, and we believe it was a Western rat snake."
The department said that call outs of this nature were fairly unusual, although this had actually been the second snake-in-a-car emergency they had attended that week.
"The same officer took both calls," the department said. "Apparently Officer King attracts snakes."
Western rat snakes can be found across the central and southern Great Plains. Often called a black snake due to their dark, shiny scales, the Western rat snake can grow to lengths of up to 6 feet.
"This is a very common species of snake in Oklahoma and primarily they feed on rodents," the police department said.
The species is non-venomous and does not pose a threat to humans. Instead, they kill their prey by constriction.
Because the species primarily eat rats and mice, they act as a natural means of pest control and play an important role in their surrounding ecosystem. However, they can sometimes pose a threat to smaller pets, like cats and poultry, so their services are not always welcome.
The police department shared both incidents to its Facebook account, receiving dozens of comments from other users.
"I'm disturbed that this keeps happening in The Village," said one resident.
"I would have crashed my car screaming about a snake in it," said another.
However, in most cases, seeing a snake is not a cause for concern. "Most snakes are harmless and the best choice is to just leave them alone and they will usually move along," the department said.
If you do see a venomous snake, the safest option is to call in a professional snake catcher or your local authority. Attempting to remove a snake yourself can increase your chances of getting bitten, as many snakes will only strike if they feel threatened.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Pandora Dewan is a Senior Science Reporter at Newsweek based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on science, health ... Read more
