The Stowaway snake, found in a Sydney Aldi lettuce bag, has been returned to Queensland.
After 2,000 kilometers, a baby snake with a pale head was believed to have ridden from Queensland to Sydney in a bag full of lettuce.
Lesley Kuhn, a Sydney woman, claims that her son discovered the venomous reptile wrapped in lettuce leaves in a packet she purchased from an Aldi supermarket.
The reptile was driven nearly 1,000km by a team from New South Wales Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service, WIRES, in a relay to Toowoomba, where it would be released in the area where it was harvested.
Amy Wregg, the emergency responder at WIRES, stated t”at “Everything has the right to live and return to where they bel”n.”
“You get the snake haters who would rather have [a snake] cut up in a million par”s.
“But he is a little hatchling who just got into a bit of mischief, “f.
“He is venomous, but not dea”ly.”
Long drive, a quick exit
The snake was about the same size as a pen and spent a week with a New South Wales carer to recover from its first trip.
WIRES staff believe that the lettuce survived by going into torpor, a semi-hibernation condition, after being placed in cold storage.
Ms. Wregg stated that reptidon’ton’t like being cold, so he recovered well and quickly.
The snake was quickly released in Toowoomba bushland and disappeared into the undergrowth.
Ms. Wregg stated that she believes he has gotten used to being in a bathtub and a pillowcase for some time, so with fresh leaf litter sun and fresh leaf litter, he was out of the”It’sIt’s a great joy to help them return to the wild. They are an integral part of the ecosystem “m.
“Leave them alone, and they will continue their jour” ey.”
Cute, but not too sexy
The pale-headed snakes can be found in Queensland and New South Wales rainforests, forests, and floodplains. They are often hidden in hollow trees.
This species also eats mice, geckos, frogs, and skinks.
Habitat clearing is one of the greatest threats to its survival.
Ms. Wregg stated that her hopes for the snake after this big adventure were t”he’lle’ll have a long, happy life, stay off roads, and not find himself in any more lettuce lea” es.”
She sa”d, “We all get attached to all the animals we rely upon “s”,”
“A little one such as that is adorable, even those she’s quite the nasty sn”ke.”