Eerie Discovery

Two snakes were stuck in a chain-link fence

The Aesculapian snake entangled in the wire mesh fence bared its fangs.(Bild: Esterbauer)

A 39-year-old man from Steyr made a creepy discovery on his property in Upper Austria: When he went to feed his chickens, he found two live snakes stuck in a chain-link fence. 

When Gerhard B. went to feed the chickens behind his house in Steyr, he came across a snake that threatened him with its mouth wide open. He saw that the reptile had become entangled in a tangle of wire mesh and could no longer free itself. Since the 39-year-old had no experience handling snakes, he called on expert Hans Esterbauer for help.

Both snakes survived the ordeal unharmed. I released them back into the nature reserve.

Reptilienexperte Hans Esterbauer

Bild: Esterbauer

Body wrapped in wire
“I arrived on the scene about 30 minutes later, where I found a male Aesculapian snake whose body was about one-third entangled in wire that was already cutting deeply into it,” explains Esterbauer. Using nail scissors, he immediately began cutting through the mesh. Half an hour later, the reptile was freed and placed in a burlap sack.

Released into the wild
When B. then went to clear away the remaining wire, he noticed that another snake had become entangled underneath it. Esterbauer: “A 135-centimeter-long female whose jaws were tightly wrapped by the wire. I cut her free and released both animals back into the wild.”