Just when you thought flying couldn’t get any worse, a report has emerged from Australia that four baby pythons escaped on a Qantas flight, and still have not been found.
The snakes were part of a group of 12 pythons that were being transported in the cargo hold of a flight from Alice Springs to Melbourne, Australia on Tuesday.
Although the container they were being carried in appeared to be intact, four of the critters were missing when the plane arrived at its destination.
Initially, airline officials thought that larger snakes in the container may have eaten the smaller snakes, but after weighing the reptiles it was determined that the juveniles must have escaped.
The plane was scheduled to continue on to Sydney but was taken out of service so that it could be inspected. A reptile expert searched the plane for the 6-inch-long Stimson’s pythons, but they could not be found.
The plane was later fumigated and the snakes are now presumed to be dead. It was returned to service on Wednesday.
Travelers who fear that the snakes may have survived don’t have much to worry about—although Stimson’s pythons can grow up to three feet long, they are not venomous and feed only on small animals such as birds and frogs.
By Karen Elowitt for PeterGreenberg.com
Related links: BBC, Associated Press, Western Australia Today
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