A snake stowed away in a man’s bag and no one knew it was there until it completed the trip from Florida to Hawaii. The southern black racer snake slithered out of the man’s backpack when he arrived on Maui Monday. Snakes have no natural predators in Hawaii and pose a threat to Hawaii’s native species. The guy with the backpack was a 20-year-old Virginia man and he was not aware of the animal until it emerged out of the pack after he arrived at a vacation rental property. The non-venomous snake wasn't huge. It measured about a foot long and a quarter-inch in diameter. The property owner told the visitor that snakes are illegal in Hawaii and alerted police, who captured the snake along with state Department of Land and Natural Resources personnel. The man said he did not intentionally bring the racer snake when he traveled from Florida, where the species is common and can grow up to 6 feet in length. So, the snake is expected to be transferred to Oahu, officials said.
SOURCE: Huffingtonpost.com