An Australian woman shopping for spices got the surprise of her life when a ten-foot python poked out from behind the spice shelf to greet her.
Sydney resident Helaina Alati was shopping at the Woolworths supermarket Monday when she discovered the snake poking out of the spice section, BBC News reported. Alati, who happened to be a wildlife rescuer and familiar with the reptiles, was able to identify the snake as a diamond python, which is a non-venomous species, according to BBC News. (RELATED: 12-Foot Python On The Loose After Escaping From Shopping Mall)
Woman comes face-to-face with snake in Australian supermarket: https://t.co/5VIkLyWpQm
— KY3 News (@kytv) August 18, 2021
Alati also took a video with her phone as it was coming out of the spices. “He was looking straight at me the whole time, almost like he was saying: ‘Can you take me outside please?'” she reportedly said. After filming the snake, she notified the employees about the uninvited guest and offered to help capture it, according to the BBC.
Having experience with catching venomous snakes, Alati was able to capture the snake with a snake bag that she grabbed from her nearby home. She then released it in a wooded area away from the supermarket and nearby homes, ABC News reported.
She said that finding the snake was the first exciting thing to have happened to her and the employees in a while due to the COVID-19 lockdown in Australia, according to ABC News.