Shoppers and staff at a Queensland Bunnings store collectively held their breath after a large red-bellied black snake was found slithering in a bag of potting mix.
Stuart McKenzie of the Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers was called in this week and shared a video of the encounter to his social media channels.
He spent 40 minutes looking for the snake after it was spotted and then disappeared. It was eventually discovered perched dangerously between bags of potting mix that were for sale.
The snake was found slithering between bags of potting mix that shoppers could have reached to pick up
‘That’s crazy… he’s quite long,’ said the experienced reptile wrangler as he caught the snake by the tail.
Red-bellied black snakes are among the most venomous in the world.
The snake was just over a meter long and probably would not have been fully grown.
Bunnings thanked staff who spotted the snake and called in an expert
“Our Kawana store had an unexpected visitor earlier this week and we thank our team for the professional way they cleared the area and kept customers safe,” a Bunnings spokesman said.
‘We also thank the local snake catcher for quickly arriving at the shop and helping to capture and remove the snake.’
McKenzie later released the snake into its natural bush habitat.
