Highly venomous snake found hiding under teacher's desk
A Sunshine Coast teacher had been sitting in an office adjoining a classroom when she heard a rustling noise underneath her desk.
When she looked down she saw a black snake's tail next to her toe.
The rest of its body was curled around the leg of the desk with its head positioned very close to her calf.
"She's pushed her chair back and lifted her feet up pretty quick," Luke Huntley from Snake Catcher Noosa told Yahoo7.
The red-bellied black snake, measuring between 1.2 to 1.4 metres, was startled too. It darted back towards the wall.
The teacher, from Noosa Christian College in Cooroy, also made her getaway and went to find help.
"She was pretty scared but she knew exactly what it was," Mr Huntley said.
The snake catcher was called at about 10am on Wednesday after the frightening find was made.
When Mr Huntley arrived the snake's head was poking out in the same spot.
"It was the most unusual place for it to be. I could not believe it, it was absolutely amazing," the snake catcher said.
Mr Huntley explained the office where the reptile was found had an internal door joining a classroom, and said there was a high possibility the snake had travelled through the classroom to get into the office.
"The snake had obviously been in there for a little while and simply picked that moment to come out," Mr Huntley told Yahoo7.
"Because of all the rain, a lot of snakes are trying to find warm, dry places to wait it out."
He added: "Had she discovered the snake about half an hour later there would have been a classroom full of people."
Fortunately this particular red-bellied black was a "very placid snake in a very good mood."
But the snake catcher described the species as highly venomous and dangerous, and said generally speaking if anyone does experience a bite, seek urgent medical assistance.
