Gigantic Black Snake Slithers Along Subway Platform in New York City: 'This Can't Be Real'
Step aside, pizza rat! There's a new animal going viral for their subway antics now.
Video of a gigantic black snake slithering across a New York City subway platform was posted on Twitter, leaving residents and social media viewers scratching their heads and wondering how the reptile made its way onto the station platform in the first place.
Transit worker Canella Gomez shared the video in a Twitter post on Sunday, writing, "Being a #TrainOperator for @NYCTSubway I thought I have seen it all but this can’t be real."
In the video, the reptile, which looks to be several feet long, slowly slides along an unidentified Brooklyn transit platform, glancing around the station as the feet of one individual are seen standing closely near the snake in the background. Gomez told the New York Post that he did not take the video but that it was sent to him instead.
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Being a #TrainOperator for @NYCTSubway I thought I have seen it all but this can’t be real @ClaytonGuse @progressiveact @danrivoli @danrivoli @dahvnyc @ScooterCasterNY @s_nessen @AvaPittmanTV @Ykaner89 pic.twitter.com/RB6zadM9BQ
— Gomez (@TripleG_RTO) August 9, 2020
It remains unclear how the snake ended up on the platform but the animal sighting even left the MTA confused, who said they are investigating the situation.
"If you sssee sssomething, sssay sssomething," they joked in a tweet. "But seriously, this is a new one for us and we are investigating. If you see a snake or any other suspicious reptiles, please immediately contact an MTA employee."
Per social media commentators, the snake in the video appears to potentially be a non-venomous black eastern rat snake, which can grow up to 7 feet in length, according to the National Wildlife Federation. Their natural habitat typically extends from Connecticut to South Carolina and as far west as Kansas and Oklahoma.
Related: Science says some snakes hunt in packs
Thankfully the eastern rat snake is largely harmless to humans as it prefers to eat frogs, eggs, and more common subway dwellers — rodents.
New Yorkers were quick to make light of the situation, however, as one user wrote, "I'm sick of these m F ing snakes on this mfing train ( in my Samuel Jackson voice)," as New York City Councilman Justin Brannan replied, "Snake moves faster than the R train."
