Hitchhiking Snake Turns Up in NH Store's Bananas

A venomous snake traveled from South America to New Hampshire in a bunch of bananas before it was discovered by shocked employees at a Manchester grocery store on Saturday. "We're lucky enough that one of the workers at Market Basket was very familiar with reptiles," Lt. Adam Cheney of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Law Enforcement Division tells NBC News, which suggests the story be "adapted for the big screen as 'Snakes on a Plantain.'" Thankfully no one was injured as the 18-inch-long ornate cat-eyed snake, native to Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador, was recognized as a mildly venomous species and a conservation officer was called in.

The nocturnal snake, which was unharmed, has since found a new home with Rainforest Reptile Shows Inc., an animal rescue service that uses exotic animals to educate the public. Vice President Mack Ralbovsky says "this new hitchhiker friend" will remain with the group and its nonprofit, RRS Oasis, "for the remainder of its life." The snake, which typically eats lizards and frogs, is now in a temporary habitat while a permanent space is prepared. Ralbovsky notes the group takes "extreme precaution" when using venomous species for outreach events. But ornate cat-eyed snakes are only mildly venomous to humans. A bite wouldn't be fatal, but it would be painful, he tells USA Today. (More snake stories.)