A family experienced nightmares on the eve of the holidays. For hours, danger lurked in the Christmas tree, ready to strike at any time.
The first recognized something was wrong when they noticed their cats had stopped moving and were staring intently at the branches. They couldn’t believe what they found in the tree only a few hours after it had been adorned.
The Christmas tree poses a fatal threat. The family had barely finished decorating the tree when they discovered what was concealed beneath it.
The family spotted the cats peering at the tree’s branches after they finished decorating it. They believed it was a mouse at first, but what they discovered in the tree terrified them.
According to CNN, “Cats were looking at the Christmas tree, and my wife said, ‘There’s definitely a mouse someplace out there,'” said Rob Wild, the head of the South African family who discovered the Christmas tree.
It didn’t take long for them to see that something was emerging from the tree. It was a boomslang, one of Africa’s most dangerous snakes.
“I had no idea what it was at the time, but when I looked up snakes in our area on Google, it came up as a boomslang. ‘Lord, this is the king of all venomous snakes,’ I thought ” Says the 55-year-old,” he says.
Boomslang is a rather peaceful snake that does not attack at first but can be fatal to humans. Even little doses of this snake’s venom can cause bleeding.
He stayed in the Christmas tree for two hours.
When the snake arrived at the family’s house in Robertson, Western Cape, Gerrie Heyns, a snake expert, confirmed the snake’s species. According to the expert, the snake in the Christmas tree was between 1.3 and 1.5 meters long.
The snake expert urged the family to stay away from the Christmas tree but to “keep an eye on the snake” until it arrived.
“Until I came, the snake lingered on the tree for two hours,” Heyns added. He caught it with special pliers and placed it on the ground, where it was “easier to manage,” he said.
“The family came to view the snake as soon as I got him under control. He didn’t try to bite or defend himself since I gave him no reason to. For children, a frightening situation became an emotional one “Heyns stated.
The snake most likely came onto the land in quest of food, water, and shelter.
“When he initially noticed the movement, he presumably sought to flee to the nearest hiding spot, which was the Christmas tree,” the snake expert said, adding that boomslang bites are uncommon.