HOST TO A SNAKE
' Zoologist At Museum (NX Press Association) WELLINGTON. May 3. The Dominion Museum zoologist, Mr C. McCann, played host to an unusual guest this afternoon when he shared his laboratory with a 7ft Australian carpet snake. The snake had arrived in New Zealand concealed in the timber cargo of the Abel Tasman. Discovered in Wellington, it was sent to the museum, and arrived today well tied up in a sack. It remained wound engagingly round Mr McCann's arm while he was interviewed. The carpet snake lives in the bush and probably got mixed up with a load of timber about to be transported, said Mr McCann. He said it was not the first snake to be brought across from Australia on a ship. "This is a comparatively small snake,” said Mr McCann. "The largest I have handled has been about 24ft long and weighing about 1501 b. This one weighs only about 61b.” On the question of diet, Mr McCann said snakes can go months without food, but this one probably had a few snacks of rats on the ship. The carpet snake is at present in the process of shedding its mottled fawn and brown skin.
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Press, Volume C, Issue 29504, 4 May 1961, Page 17
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200HOST TO A SNAKE Press, Volume C, Issue 29504, 4 May 1961, Page 17
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