Daddy! There’s a boa on my bike...
MOST of us would be delighted to see some wildlife in our garden – a hedgehog or an owl, say... but perhaps not a huge boa constrictor.
So Bruce Baker had the shock of his life when he saw his one-yearold daughter, Willow, just inches away from a 7ft boa.
Mr Baker, 32, a mechanic from Innerleithen in the Scottish Borders, leapt into action after his daughter Chloe asked him: ‘Is there meant to be a snake at the door?’
He said: ‘My neighbour helped me get it into a plastic box. I’m glad he was dealing with the head end!’
An officer from the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals wrapped the snake – believed to be an escaped pet – in a pillow case and took it away.
Mr Baker added: ‘The officer said they have teeth like fish hooks.’
Boas are not venomous, but kill their prey by constricting them, cutting the supply of oxygenated blood to vital organs.
Their prey includes small mammals, birds and lizards and frogs, but larger boas are known to swallow pigs and deer whole.
Females give birth to up to 60 live babies of 2ft long. They may grow to more than 45lb and up to 13ft over a lifespan of up to 30 years. The largest ever found was 18ft.