By SÍLE MOLONEY

There were no injuries reported on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 28, after police removed a snake from a shopping bag in the Olinville section of The Bronx.

An NYPD spokesperson said that police received a call on Saturday a around 2.09 p.m. for a report of a rattle snake in the vicinity of 212th
Street and White Plains Road.

Police said officers found the snake inside a shopping cart and proceeded to remove it. Asked if they had any idea how the snake got there, police said they did not.

They added that it was transferred to New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Norwood News has reached out to the department for more information and will share any updates we receive. We also contacted the Bronx Zoo to ask if perhaps it’s been transfered on to the Zoo and will share any updates we receive. The condition of the snake is unknown.

The area where the snake was located is a 5 minute walk from Gun Hill Houses. As reported in May, the Bronx District Attorney’s office is investigating reports of arranged pitbull fighting at various locations across The Bronx, Gun Hill Houses among them. Various residents have complained about cruelty to animals (dogs and cats) in the context of the investigation.

POLICE REMOVE A Honduran Milk snake from a shopping cart located in the vicinity of 212th Street and White Plains Road in the Olinville section of The Bronx on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 28, 2024. Video courtesy of the Citizens’ App.

According to article posted on Seaworld.org, based on information posted to kingsnake.com written by various authors, Honduran Milk Snakes are known for their imitation of the markings and behavior of the venomous coral snake. “By such mimicry, they lead potential predators to believe they are dealing with a dangerous animals, and are thus left alone.”

According to the article, milksnakes use quick, jerky movements so that their bands flash, startling predators. Their bright colors signal danger and often confuse predators, making these snakes hard to follow. They are known for eating other snakes and have one of the widest distributions of any snake in the Americas. They reportedly get their name from an old belief that it drinks milk from the udders of cows. This myth probably arose because they were commonly spotted in barns and stables, where there is a concentration of rodents.

POLICE REMOVE A Honduran Milk snake from a shopping cart located in the vicinity of 212th Street and White Plains Road in the Olinville section of The Bronx on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 28, 2024. Video courtesy of the Citizens’ App.

As reported, in June, police removed a python snake from a residential home in Manhattan and in May 2023, we reported how an abandoned baby alligator left in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park which had swallowed a bath stopper and which was taken into the care of the Bronx Zoo, later died.

A statement read, “A necropsy revealed chronic and severe weight loss, extreme anemia, and infections in her intestine and skin. She also had a chronic ulcer of her stomach caused by the rubber stopper. Despite the intensive care, the alligator was so emaciated, debilitated, and anemic, her immune system was not as strong as it needed to be and she succumbed to those infections.”

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on X @NYPDTips.

All calls are strictly confidential.