Whoa! Boa constrictor stuck in car dashboard freed unharmed

ALBEMARLE, N.C. — A pet boa constrictor that became stuck behind the dashboard of a car in North Carolina needed the help of some animal control officers to wriggle free. But the snake believed to measure about 5 feet in length was ultimately released unharmed from its owner’s vehicle — after some car parts were removed.

Officers with the Stanly County Animal Protective Services were dispatched Tuesday to free the snake after it became trapped, The Charlotte Observer reported. A photo shared by the agency on its Facebook page showed some pieces of the dashboard had been dismantled to reach the snake and let it slither out.

County worker Jamie Parker, who helped in the rescue, joked on Facebook that the team “just talked nice” to the snake and it backed itself out. How the snake got into the dashboard is not known.

Boa constrictors are a nonvenomous tropical snake capable of swallowing their prey whole. They can grow to 13 feet (4 metres) long and weigh more than 100 pounds (45 kilograms), according to National Geographic.

The Associated Press