POLICE and animal welfare services were left scratching their heads on Wednesday afternoon after an escaped snake slithered right through their fingers.
"North Van RCMP was called to the 1800 block of Purcell Way for a pet snake that was missing inside a house," said North Vancouver RCMP spokesman Doug Trousdell. "The snake in question is approximately four feet long and is a ball python."
Trousdell said the owner of the snake lived in the basement of the house but it was the upstairs tenant that discovered the snake around noon and called police.
District of North Vancouver spokeswoman Jeanine Bratina said one of the District of North Vancouver Animal Shelter officers was called in to assist the RCMP with the search shortly after 1 p.m.
"The snake was believed to be in the home's laundry room/storage area," said Bratina. Neither the RCMP or the animal welfare officer were able to find the snake, said Trousdell, and the Ministry of Environment was then contacted to send a conservation officer to take over the search.
David Karn, spokesman for the ministry of environment said the conservation officer service was contacted and that because the snake is believed to be a ball python, it is not prohibited or restricted under the Controlled Alien Species legislation.
"CO's assisted with a search for the escaped snake in the residence but it was not located," said Karn. "It is left to the owner to locate the escaped snake."
Karn said the snake is non-venonmous and the average size of an adult ball python is less than four feet.
"It is in the Conservation Officer Service mandate to investigate any contravention of Controlled Alien Species Regulation," he said.
