Cozumel. Q.R. — Members of the Cozumel fire department were called to a private home during the late evening hours Wednesday after homeowners reported a snake.
Members of el Heroico Cuerpo de Bomberos in Cozumel responded to the call of a viper in a private home. The call came in around 11:00 p.m., which sent firemen an address of a private house at kilometer 5.5 of carretera transversal. When they arrived, they did find a snake, but it was not a viper.
Instead, Cozumel firemen were greeted by a 2.5 meter boa constrictor. They were able to catch and cage the large snake, while residents looked on.
On duty fireman Jorge Antonio Ancona Rodríguez, emphasized that boas are not poisonous, adding that “They are not poisonous, but it is a boa and it can bite. These specimens arise from the rains. It is not common to see them in urban areas, but in the outskirts it does happen,” he explained.
He also clarified that the reported viper was not a viper but a boa, noting that there are no vipers in Cozumel.
The boa was coiled into a safe cage and held for members of la Subdirección de Ecología, who will relocated the snake back into the jungle away from people.
