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There are dozens of snake species that are native to South Carolina, but boa constrictors aren’t on that list. However, one of them still managed to give some mechanics in Myrtle Beach a bit of a scare when it was recently discovered in the engine of a car that had been brought into an auto shop.
One of my favorite Weird News stories in somewhat recent memory involves a squirrel in North Dakota who decided there was no better place to stash thousands of walnuts than inside the engine and body of a Chevy Avalanche that was sitting in the unfortunate owner’s driveway.
However, I think most people would rather deal with that discovery after popping over the hood of their vehicle as opposed to being greeted by a giant snake.
According to WPDE, some employees in the garage at Beach Automotive Group in Myrtle Beach were greeted by that exact sight on Tuesday while working on a 2015 Ford Focus that had been brought in to address an issue with a faulty clutch.
After mechanic Tony Galli realized what he was dealing with, he asked some other workers if they had any experience with snakes, and when they realized they were out of their element, they contacted Russell Cavender (who calls himself “The Snake Chaser”) to help them take care of the unexpected stowaway who’d curled up in the engine.
Cavender said the eight-foot boa constrictor was likely someone’s pet and had crawled into the engine for warmth, although the outlet reports the owner of the car said it didn’t belong to them and had no idea where it may have come from.
Cavender noted the snake was underweight and had wrinkles that suggested whoever was taking care of it wasn’t doing an adequate job, and if no one comes forward to claim the boa constrictor, he plans to hand it over to a breeder when it’s healthy enough.