We see your Snail Mail and raise you... Snake Mail! A USPS letter carrier in Overland Park, Kansas had thought they'd seen it all when it comes to animal interactions. Territorial dogs, terrified cats, ill-tempered wild turkeys and swarms of bees are all part and (ahem) parcel of a postal worker's job.
“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds,” reads the United States Postal Service's historic motto, but there ain't nothin' in there about snakes! Thus this letter carrier can be forgiven for not delivering a Broadmoor Street resident's mail on Friday, August 17th.
According to John Lacy, a spokesperson from the Overland Park Police Department, the letter carrier called Animal Control when confronted by the jaw-droppingly large serpent, later identified as a Red Tail Boa Constrictor.
This species of reptile isn't native to eastern Kansas, so either it escaped from a local pet-owner or a twister lofted it over The Wall from Latin America. Either way, as Lacy confirmed, “the poor resident did not receive their mail today (obviously).”
Three Animal Control officers were summarily dispatched to the address and, after some difficulty, were able to dislodge the snake from its perch over the mailbox. Politely declining an OPPD Public Information officer's request to leave the snake under their Chief's desk, the Animal Control officers instead brought it to the Great Plains SPCA branch in nearby Merriam. With any luck, the snake's owner will make contact when they find their pet missing. (via Kansas City Star)
