A python snaked its way into Scotland in the suitcase of a tourist.
The creature was discovered in a shoe which had been packed away by a traveller from Stirling.
The Bridge of Allan local made the startling discovery after arriving home from Glasgow Airport after which she alerted the Scottish SPCA.
The traveller's son-in-law Paul Airlie told local news site ABC Radio Brisbane: “She was not at all expecting to find the snake when she was unpacking a bag when she got back to Scotland.
Read more: Winner of the wildlife photo of the year revealed
“She had woken up a few days before she left and thought she had seen a snake in her room and woke me up at 3:00 in the morning to check.
“Obviously she just picked the shoe up and stuck it in the bag and then it was there.
“Somehow or other it got from Mackay to Glasgow without being detected.”
Paul said the incident was reported to the Scottish SPCA.
Scottish SPCA animal rescue officer Taylor Johnstone told the Evening Times: “I can confirm we removed a snake from a property in Bridge of Allan.
“I responded to a call from a woman who had just returned from a holiday in Australia who had found a small snake inside her shoe in her suitcase.
“When I arrived, the snake had been contained by the caller, so I safely removed the snake from the property.
“Upon examination, the snake was found to be a spotted python which is not venomous.
“The snake is now in quarantine at our animal rescue and rehoming centre in Edinburgh.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel