A Snake Was Discovered at a University City Regional Rail Station

A constrictor or some kind of python, says Animal Control, was found inside a trash can coiled up in a brown paper bag. Someone call Samuel L. Jackson.

The Snakes on a Plane jokes would be too easy. They’d also be inaccurate, because this slithery serpent wasn’t even spotted on a train, but instead was found inside a trash can at a SEPTA station in University City around 4:30 a.m. Friday morning.

You read that right, SEPTA police were alerted to the reptile’s whereabouts after a passerby uncovered the snake, which was inside a brown bag in a trash can.

Ed Fritz, Director of Operations for the Animal Care and Control Team of Philadelphia, said animal control could not confirm whether the snake had been alive at the time it was discovered, but did say that the snake was dead when it arrived at a shelter. Regardless, a sizable snake is certainly not what you’d expect to find when you go rifling through garbage.

As for the type of snake, Fritz described it as a constrictor, or some kind of python, but the exact species is unknown.

SEPTA has its history with snakes, like back in October when a man’s 4-foot boa constrictor got loose on a bus and had passengers panicked and clinging to the walls. This time, though, the commotion seems to have been kept in check and the situation handled.

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