A sunny day in B.C.’s Interior turned out to be quite surprising for two construction workers.
While demolishing a shed in Kelowna, the two found a six-foot snake hiding in the rafters.
The two construction workers didn’t want to be interviewed, but a nearby man who overheard their surprised shouts, and wound up rescuing the snake, spoke to Global News.
“I’m visiting my parents’ house next door, and I heard the two workers on the roof of the garage they’re dismantling,” said Kelly Blair.
‘I hear ‘Woah! What’s that?! What do we have here?’ I’m thinking a big hornet nest or something. So I holler over, ‘What did you find?’ And they say, ‘It’s a snake, and it’s a big one.’”
Blair says he loves all animals, so he popped over to help.
He clambered up the ladder to the shed’s dismantled roof, walked across the beams and did what the two construction workers weren’t willing to do: Reach down and grab the olive green and black-patterned snake.
“It slowly started to move, and as it made its way, I picked it up,” said Blair, noting the snake made its way along a truss towards him.
Blair admits he doesn’t know much about snakes, but that this one didn’t have a rattle.
He also said he’s handled snakes “a time or two” in the past, and that he reached out to local veterinarians to help him discover what type of snake it is.
Contacted later Tuesday, Blair was told it’s believed to be a bullsnake, an indigenous species to the region.
Asked if he was shocked to see how long it was, Blair said yes, he was surprised.
“People always tend to exaggerate. So when the guy said ‘Oh, it’s a big snake,’ I’m thinking ‘Oh yeah, sure.’ And sure enough, it’s big,” said Blair.
In fact, in cellphone video of him rescuing the snake, Blair says, “Look at this! He’s a big boy!”
Blair placed the snake in a large basket, and he’s hoping someone will reach out and help him either relocate to the snake outdoors, or perhaps to a reptile sanctuary.
Neither Blair nor the person renting the home had any idea of how long the snake had been in the shed, though the renter said they found six rats inside.
“Bottom line: I’d like to see the snake end up in an appropriate environment,” said Blair. “I’d like to see it survive and thrive.”