Snakes escaped from Welsh Mountain Zoo Upper in Colwyn Bay

Feb 25 2010 by Richard Evans, North Wales Weekly News

SLITHERING 6ft-long snakes alien to the UK have been spotted in residents’ gardens near a popular zoo.

Back in the 1960s 10 Aesculapian snakes escaped from the Welsh Mountain Zoo and into the surrounding woods.

The reptiles are thought to have bred and have been regularly spotted lurking in and around woodlands and nearby homes outside the attraction in the past three decades.

The non-venomous snakes are harmless to humans but can grow as long as six feet and typically feed off small rodents.

One elderly resident living in Upper Colwyn Bay spotted a snake in his garden last week.

“I saw something sticking out of the bushes, it was moving and I thought it was a cat’s tail or something,” he said.

“But when I got closer it was much longer and I was surprised it was a snake.

“I must admit with the zoo so close I was a little concerned it might be venomous, but I was more concerned about cats than anything.”

In the 1960s European reptiles and amphibians were kept in an old Victorian glasshouse at the zoo, which is no longer standing. Around 10 Aesculapian snakes escaped, and while no-one remembers how, the snakes were able to survive in the mild climate of Colwyn Bay.

Sue Coleman is an education officer at the zoo and had also spotted and caught one of the exotic snakes: “Last year I was sitting in my office and spotted movement out of the corner of my eye – a snake was coming around the side of my filing cabinet – it must have come up through a hole in the floor. I caught it and released it the zoo grounds.”

A spokeswoman for the Welsh Mountain Zoo said the snakes could even be keeping rat numbers down : “The snakes colonised the woodlands within the zoo grounds and there have been some reports that they have been seen in local woodlands and unfortunately, run over on nearby roads, as they like to sun themselves on the warm tarmac.

They are non-venomous and considered harmless.

“Around three years ago a visitor reported a snake coming through a window in the men's toilets and staff recently found one curled up asleep beside the kitchen boiler in the main offices.

“The snakes live in woodland undergrowth and hibernate during the colder months. They are excellent climbers and eat mostly young birds and rodents. There is some speculation as to whether they help to keep the wild rodent population under control at the zoo.”