Residents at 1st Ave Grazettes, St Michael are extremely scared after numerous alleged sightings of a “huge snake” in the area.
Inspector at the Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) Wayne Norville, told WEEKEND?NATION he checked the area but came up empty-handed.
Norville, who visited the area yesterday, said the area has lots of thick undergrowth where a snake could hide easily and he appealed to people in the neighbourhood to be vigilant and call him as soon as they have a sighting.
“People are going to run if they see a snake, it’s only natural, but they need to watch to see where it is going. A snake will not stay in one place, it will keep moving, but I have checked and I have not seen anything that points to a snake in the area,” Norville stated.
“I’ve heard that puppies are missing and chickens are missing, but once a snake is full, it will rest until it needs to feed again, so as soon as they see it they need to call somebody quickly,” he stated.
Meanwhile, founder and president of the Caribbean Herpetological Society, Damon Corrie, said he had been out of the island and had not received any calls about the snake, but noted the description fitted that of the local (mastigodryas) which has a yellow under belly and brown and black sides and can grow up to four feet long.
Resident Joan Shepherd said she has been a prisoner in her home since the first reported sightings of the snake.
“Every time I come home I am always looking around the house and checking under the beds, I am so uneasy with this snake thing. I even have the back door closed all the time now,” she stated.
Shepherd said what made her uneasy was that she had not seen any rats in the area, nor had she seen cats or dogs roaming the streets like before.
“This area was overrun by rats, now you are not seeing one single rat. All of them seem to have disappeared,” she stated.
Shepherd believed the snake was nearby yesterday when animals in the area started “going crazy”.
“The dogs were barking and looking into the grass and then the monkeys were going wild in the trees. My neighbour says he saw the bushes moving all the time, but I didn’t get a chance to see it,” she stated. (CT)
