The search for a snake that supposedly escaped from the San Francisco zoo ended on Tuesday when zookeepers found it in its cage.
The San Francisco Zoo reported on Friday that a Baron's green racer was missing from its enclosure in the new South American Tropical Rainforest and Aviary. The small snake escaped a day before the exhibit opened at the zoo. Zookeepers started a search for the missing snake, but they found nothing and believed that it had been eaten by other animals.
"This one is pretty small, and that is why it most likely became prey for another animal," zoo spokeswoman Nancy Hayden Crowley said, according to SF Gate.
"We have about 100 species of plants and animals in here, many of them are snake-eating birds," zoo spokesman Joe Fitting said, stressing the possibility of the small snake becoming a prey, CBS San Francisco reported.
Continuing the search, the management assured the public's safety if the snake was found alive, stating that a snake that is an inch wide and about a foot long is "barely venomous," according to the SFIST.
The zookeepers were surprised to find on Tuesday at 3 p.m. that the missing Baron's racer, which was actually 13-inches-long, just came out of its hiding spot.
"We are happy to report the snake is alive and well, and apparently never left its tank, Snakes are amazing creatures and can camouflage themselves when they don't want to be found. This little girl had opening day jitters and made herself disappear," San Francisco Zoo Deputy Director Joe Fitting said.
The staff never gave up, putting large plants inside the tank where the snake was hiding. Their efforts paid off after a few days when they coaxed the snake from its hiding spot, CBS San Francisco reported.
