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Family's terrifying visitor in car after children take animal skull souvenir home

A road trip home from a family getaway was cut short when they spotted an unwelcome visitor in their car.

The family – a mother, father and two daughters aged 7 and 9 – were travelling along the Hume Motorway from Picton, southwest of Sydney.

The mother noticed a snake on the floor of the car at her feet and her husband, thinking quickly, managed to move across a lane of heavy traffic to pull over in the breakdown lane.

When all the passengers were out of the car, he called the police.

The Native Wildlife Rescue is a non-profit organisation which operates in NSW’s Southern Highlands and helps rescue, rehabilitate and release wildlife. It was Native Wildlife Rescue who shared the story to Facebook.

A highway patrol car was called out by the Southern Highlands Police and the rescue group was called to the scene by police.

A family found a juvenile tiger snake slithering around their car on their way home. Source: Facebook - Native Wildlife Rescue.
A family found a juvenile tiger snake slithering around their car on their way home. Source: Facebook - Native Wildlife Rescue.

Native Wildlife Rescue also said police provided a “calming influence in a traumatic situation”, and the mother and children were taken to a Mittagong shopping centre.

When the rescuer arrived to retrieve the snake, it was reportedly on high alert and was at the rear of the vehicle, and then disappeared under the rear seat.

When the snake was next spotted in the car, it quickly disappeared behind the dashboard.

The situation was already unsafe because the car was parked beside the highway with other vehicles driving by, and the traffic created a significant amount of noise and vibration, which didn’t help the rescue operation.

Police did offer to provide a car with flashing lights to “slow the traffic down to an acceptable noise level”, but the idea was scrapped as it would have resulted in major delays for an “indeterminate amount of time”.

Children unknowingly carried snake into car

It was eventually decided the vehicle would be moved to Mittagong, where it would be quieter and safer.

“The removal of a snake from the interior of a motor vehicle is one of the snake rescuer’s worst nightmares as there are so many places for it to hide,” Native Wildlife Rescue wrote on Facebook.

“But it couldn’t stay unresolved as the mother and children wouldn’t get in the car ever again.”

Eventually, more than five hours later, the snake was found and captured.

It turns out the snake was a juvenile tiger snake and it appears it had hidden in a souvenir the daughters were taking home from their trip.

The snake was probably hiding in a skull the children had taken from a paddock on their holiday. Source: Facebook - Native Wildlife Rescue.
The snake was probably hiding in a skull the children had taken from a paddock on their holiday. Source: Facebook - Native Wildlife Rescue.

“The spine-chilling backstory is the children have a small collection of sun-bleached animal skulls,” Native Wildlife Rescue wrote.

“They found and picked up a cow-skull in good condition from the paddock which they placed on the floor of the front passenger seat of the car.

“On a closer inspection of the skull it was seen the brain cavity provided a suitable and secure refuge for the snake and most probable reason of how the snake came to be in the car.”

Kerstin, from Native Wild Life Rescue, explained tiger snakes are highly venomous and even though the snake was just a juvenile, it’s venom would still be as toxic as a fully-grown snake.

She told Yahoo News Australia her advice when encountering a snake was to “step back and stay very, very still and be calm”.

“They’re normally more reactive if they feel threatened,” Kerstin said.

She also warned people to be cautious of snakes on the road while driving.

“Even if people drive over a snake, or hit a snake, they have to be cautious it hasn’t be caught in the wheel,” Kerstin said.

She also advises to be wary when going for a camping trip or picnic, and recommends keeping all car doors shut and a checking small, dark places like sleeping bags or shoes for snakes before packing the car.

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