On Sunday morning, a massive snake was caught on a New York City street by the NYPD.
According to the NY Post, the reptile was found around a jersey barrier set up for construction at Washington Street and West 12th Street. The reptile was 3 feet long, and making itself quite at home in the meatpacking district. According to local authorities, the capture was made around 11:15 AM.
The snake was taken to the nearest Animal Control Center upon its capture. Sunday's capture marked the 5th snake to be found and caught in NYC in the last two months. Moreover, Sunday's incident came less than two weeks after a black-and-white snake was found in a lobby of a rehab center, on Amsterdam Avenue, near 156th Street in Washington Heights. Likewise, a large python was spotted in the Diamond District in early June. The python, named "Sir Hiss," was 2-feet long, and found steps away from the Rockefeller Center.
Another Large Snake Found in NYC
While the snakes in New York have garnered plenty of media attention, luckily nobody has been harmed. Unfortunately, a tragic story from Australia earlier this year is a reminder how dangerous the reptiles can be. In March, a man attempted to remove a venomous snake from a childcare center, and was bitten in the effort. Sadly, the man went on to die as a result of the bite.
The culprit was a brown snake, which is one of the most lethal in the world. According to CBS News, the victim was identified as 47 year-old man Jerromy Brooks. Brooks made the effort to remove the creature, in part because his family was in the center. Both Brooks's wife and two daughters worked there, in early child education.
Perhaps surprisingly, fatal snake bites are fairly common across the globe. According to the World Health Organization, 81,000 to 138,000 people die each year, due to snake bites. The number is certainly significant and piggybacks off of an estimated 4.5 million to 5.4 million bites a year.
New York's snake sightings have been newsworthy, but thankfully, not fatal.
