By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday August 14, 2013
Late-night python startles Hess bar patrons
A group of bar patrons got a late-night surprise when they ran into a three-foot python on their way out of Hess Village.
Hamilton animal control was called on Aug. 7 around 3 a.m. after the patrons left the bar and found the snake slithering into some bushes in a lot near King Street West and Hess Street.
According to the Reptile Store, located a dozen or so blocks from where the serpent was discovered, these snakes are not dangerous.
The ball python is “if not the most popular species of snake, definitely the most popular python,” said Jon Kendrick, business manager of reptilestore.ca.
They get their name because, when startled, they coil up, tucking their head into the middle — like a ball.
They’re timid, Kendrick says, which makes them popular pets.
Because of its “handle-ability,” this one was likely a pet, animal control supervisor Cal Burnett said.
But animal control doesn’t know to whom the snake belongs or from where it came.
The escapee didn’t come from the Reptile Store, Kendrick ensures.
“Again, thankfully, they don’t pose a threat of any significance unless you’re a small mouse.”
Last week, a 45-kilogram African rock python killed two boys — 4-year-old Noah Barthe and his 6-year-old brother, Connor — after it strangled them in a New Brunswick apartment. (Source: CBC News)