A video of a massive black snake slithering across an unidentified above-ground subway platform went viral on Twitter on Sunday, August 9. Transit worker Canella Gomez shared the clip of the serpent minding its own business. There’s also someone standing on the platform, who appears unbothered by the scale-covered creature.
Gomez revealed that someone sent the video to him, New York Post reported.
“Being a train operator for NYC Transit subway I thought I have seen it all but this can’t be real,” Gomez captioned the video on Twitter. The transit worker told PIX11 that the platform was located in Brooklyn, but could not say which station. It also remains unknown where the snake came from, or how it got onto the platform.
Gothamist posited that the reptile appeared to be an eastern rat snake. These creatures are non-venomous, feast on rodents, and can grow up to seven feet long. The National Wildlife Federation notes that their natural habitat usually goes from Connecticut to South Carolina, and can go as far west as Kansas and Oklahoma.
This isn’t the first time snakes were caught riding the subways of New York. On one nightmarish 3 a.m. A train ride in June 2014, a man took his pet snake out of its container to get some air.
Two ladies casually shared a giant snake on the L train in August 2015, Gothamist reported.
In June 2017, a snake was holding onto the overhead subway railing of an L train. Juan Guerrero, told NBC New York at the time that the snake’s owner appeared to kiss his pet after the camera shut off.
Two months later, another snake was spotted on the L line, tangled up on the straphanger pole. The Reddit user MayoMouth who captured this video noted that the man seen and “another guy who was with him were passing it [the snake] around the car and while they weren’t charging people, they would ask for donations when someone asked to hold it.”
A post shared by SubwayCreatures (@subwaycreatures) on Jun 16, 2017 at 8:37am PDT
As far as owners and their snakes riding the subway with wild abandon goes, the MTA Rules of Conduct state: “No person may bring any animal on or into any conveyance or facility unless enclosed in a container and carried in a manner which would not annoy other passenger.”
The MTA sent out a tweet after the August 9 indecent noting that this slithering situation was a new one for them. “If you ssseee sssomething, sssay sssomething,” they cheekily urged passengers.
“If you see a snake or any other suspicious reptiles, please immediately contact an MTA employee,” the transit authority added.
