PALM CITY — A “shocked” Florida woman found a live python tangled up in her car’s engine, and now it’s is giving people fits on social media.
It happened Wednesday, November 5, and the snake was in the 4-foot range and very much still alive, a photo shows.
“A resident in the Stuart West community of Palm City made an unusual discovery after finding a ball python coiled around the engine of their vehicle,” the Martin County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post.
“Animal Control Officer Mollie Cameron responded and safely removed the snake, which was later transported to a local wildlife hospital for care and observation.”
The sheriff’s office says the motorist was “shocked but calm” when she called for help.
Ball pythons are not native to Florida, leading the department to suspect it was a pet that either escaped or was intentionally released, which is illegal in Florida. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says that’s how South Florida got its rapidly spreading population of Burmese pythons, which are wreaking havoc in the ecosystem.
Hundreds of comments and reactions have been posted on the department’s Facebook post, some calling it “what nightmares are made of” and others guessing the snake was looking for a warm spot to nap. Multiple commenters identified it as spider ball python, a species native to Central Africa.
“I would’ve handed the title and everything to it (the snake). That’s its car now,” Desteny Pierre posted on the department’s Facebook page.
“How does one make a ‘discovery’ of a python wrapped around their car engine. Nope, no thank you,” Rachel Armstead posted.
“Great now I gotta check my backseat and under hood,” Nichole Omertà said.
“How in the world does this craziness keep happening?” Ken Junior asked.
The sheriff’s office issued a statement asking if anyone was missing a ball python, or if they knew of someone who had intentionally released one.
Palm City is about a 105-mile drive north from Miami.
By MARK PRICE/Charlotte Observer
Mark Price is a National Reporter for McClatchy News. He joined the network of newspapers in 1991 at The Charlotte Observer, covering beats including schools, crime, immigration, LGBTQ issues, homelessness and nonprofits. He graduated from the University of Memphis with majors in journalism and art history, and a minor in geology.