A wild Florida snake turned a part of a gory Halloween scene Saturday when it discovered itself tangled in an ornamental spider internet.
A Miami Shores resident found the Florida black racer snake wrapped up in a faux spiderweb and known as wildlife consultants in to assist, in accordance with the Pelican Harbor Seabird Station (PHSS), which got here to the rescue.
PHSS introduced the rescued snake to its services and began setting the snake free. In the method, they discovered one other small lizard additionally twisted up within the internet and half-eaten by the black racer snake.
The rescuers consider that the snake noticed the lizard as a Halloween deal with however acquired caught within the internet together with it. PHSS spokesperson Hannah McDougall mentioned in an emailed assertion to USA TODAY Tuesday that employees members weren’t positive if the lizard had died earlier than or after being practically swallowed complete by the snake.
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Rescuers cleared away the tangled, cotton ornament and stored the snake in a single day for commentary earlier than releasing it the following day.
Black racer snakes are native to Florida, pose no hurt to people, and hunt lizards, frogs, rodents and birds, in accordance with the National Park Service. The species will get its identify from their pace, and so they can develop as much as 60 inches lengthy.
A ‘frequent’ incident this time of yr
Officials with PHSS reminded individuals of the potential risks of out of doors decorations on wildlife.
“This type of entanglement injury is common this time of year with people decorating their landscaping for Halloween. We’ve seen the same injury before with a small warbler”, mentioned Yaritza Acosta, a wildlife rehabilitation supervisor, in accordance with the press launch by PHSS.
“While festive and seemingly innocuous, decorations like faux spiderwebs can unintentionally threaten native wildlife. In this case, the snake was lucky to be found and saved by involved residents.” mentioned McDougall.