An escaped snake was spotted lunging at terrified shoppers on a busy Glasgow high street, with footage of the incident going viral on social media. The reptile was seen roaming just outside the entrance to St Enoch Shopping Centre.
Witnesses react online
One eyewitness wrote online: "The snake was clearly f****** terrified and could have hurt someone." Another wrote: "I know I have an irrational fear of snakes but I always control it by knowing that it is highly unlikely I'd ever come across one randomly ...now this! ! I was genuinely in town today."
Exactly why the snake was slithering through the busy shopping district remains a mystery. However, it's believed the reptile may be an exotic pet which was abandoned by its owner. Another witness wrote: "This has made me so raging. The wee soul is in fight or flight."
Snake captured and cared for
Further photos of the snake being contained in a cardboard box have been circulating online. An SSPCA spokesperson later commented on the retrieval of the snake: "I can confirm that an Animal Rescue Officer from the Scottish SPCA attended and collected the snake after a member of the public handed it into security at St Enoch Shopping Centre in Glasgow on August 12."
The statement added: "It was then taken to our Glasgow Animal Rescue and Rehoming Centre in Cardonald where it is now being cared for by the team."
Similar incident on a flight
It comes after a viper escaped and slithered through the cabin of a packed passenger flight in scenes echoing 2006 action movie 'Snakes on a Plane.' The serpent broke free aboard a crowded TUI aircraft travelling from Mexico to the UK in June. Not one of the 345 travellers on board spotted the scaly intruder, which was believed to be a "mildly venomous" mock viper.
The snake was discovered by a cleaner moments after the plane touched down at Gatwick on June 5. An airport employee captured a photo of the reddish-brown serpent, suspected to have been smuggled aboard at Cancun, before it then vanished. Technicians and wildlife specialists attempted to locate it on the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, which had to be withdrawn from service, but it remained elusive.
