"Puff Adder" loose in South Huron

[Cruciform]

Another snakes story in the London Free Press this morning.

Why do I get the feeling that snake owners in Ontario are going to be completely screwed soon if we don't organize.



---story begins---

Pssssssssst! Snake alert


APRIL KEMICK, Free Press Reporter 2004-07-27 02:05:05


Spooked South Huron residents on are the lookout for a metre-long snake, thought to be a dangerous puff adder. The black snake, with a diamond-like pattern on its head, was first spotted by a man in Oakwood Park north of Grand Bend on Saturday. Police have had at least two calls about the snake, which is believed to be a pet that got away, OPP said.

Others who haven't seen the serpent are glad they haven't.

"I don't think I've ever seen any (snakes) on the Oakwood property," said Mary Wright, guest services manager at Oakwood Inn Resort and Golf Club. "Maybe little grass snakes or something."

The puff adder, common in Africa and parts of the Mideast, is a venomous viper, but is commonly mistaken for North America's less dangerous Eastern hognose snake.

One man who found the snake coiled in his stairwell said it was aggressive and flattened its head when approached, a characteristic of the puff adder.