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Slithering snakes saddle up on the subway – Metro US

Slithering snakes saddle up on the subway

Slithering snakes saddle up on the subway
Hiram Becker

Snakes on a train may sound like the long-awaited sequel to “Snakes on a Plane,” but instead it was an F train nightmare.

A bag of real live snakes was left on a subway car bench Sunday afternoon, Gothamist reported. Commuter Hiram Becker was one of the lucky individuals who experienced the joy of seeing straight-up snakes on his transit. He didn’t notice the backpack of snakes at first until he saw an open bench and no one sitting down. Then realization struck.

“My first reaction was ‘holy s–, there’s snakes. I’ll just keep standing,’” said Becker over a phone call. “Everyone was minding their business, but also knowing that there was just snakes there.”

Becker said that there were supposedly two snakes in the backpack, each around four to five feet long. Each passenger that boarded the train seemed surprisingly calm.

“You know whenever there’s an open seat you think ‘sweet, an open seat!’ I would watch people walk in, see them shake their head and walk away,” said Becker.

“It was surprising enough that you saw that moment of shock in peoples’ eyes; then it was like, ‘meh, I’ve seen worse’ and they’d move on.”

The owner of the bag of snakes reportedly calmly left it there when he went to the other side of the train to speak to some teenagers.

“He seemed like he was reveling in being this older alpha person who could impact wisdom on these kids,” said Becker. The snake charmer didn’t seem bothered that he left his snakes for the train to take in. Supposedly the owner retrieved the bag around the 34 Street-Herald Square subway stop.

Certain types of snakes, such as cobras and vipers, are illegal to own in New York City. The MTA does not allow animals, service dogs aside, on the subway unless they’re “enclosed in a container” or “carried in a manner which would not annoy other passengers.” Yes, this even includes snakes, according to a MTA employee.

Thankfully the snakes didn’t harm or interact with anyone, even sans Samuel L. Jackson’s presence.