Deadly Snake Hangs Out Like Tinsel on an Australian Woman's Christmas Tree

Venomous snake in Australia put the "hiss" in Christmas tree by chilling like tinsel.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Ah, Christmas time. A time when you gather around the fire and Christmas tree to relax with your family. At least that's how it should be. And the holidays shouldn't involve any snakes, at all, whatsoever, period. Down Under in Australia, though, one snake put the "hiss" in Christmas and hung out on a Christmas tree like it was tinsel or something. 

According to AFP, an Australian woman named Cheryl was relaxing Sunday afternoon when she noticed something about her Christmas tree. It wasn't the presents under the tree. It wasn't the ornaments on the tree. It wasn't even the tinsel. It was A MOTHERF***ING SNAKE ON THE MOTHERF***ING TREE.

Image via Giphy

While most of us would freak out—HELLO THERE'S A MOTHERF***ING SNAKE ON THE MOTHERF***ING TREE—Cheryl was super chill about it. She took a picture of the snake and sent it to the snake-catcher (yes, apparently those are a thing in Australia). Cheryl made herself a cup of tea while waiting for the snake-catcher, because I guess that's just how they do it Down Under.

About twenty minutes later, "I had the little bugger in a bag," snake-catcher Barry Goldsmith told AFP.

Goldsmith told CNN the "bugger" was a venomous tiger snake, which "is among the most dangerous of Australia."

He says the snake probably came in through an open door in the home in Frankston, which is suburb of a Melbourne, Australia. He noted, "[Tiger snakes] are very deadly but only if you hurt them." Despite the fact that she had a deadly snake on her Christmas tree, "Cheryl was very sensible about it," Goldsmith said.

Of the world's 25 most venomous snakes, 20 of them live in Australia, including the tiger snake which can grow up to ten feet long. That's pretty scary, but the Aussies are nice to their snakes. 

Goldsmith told the Guardian that people shouldn't kill snakes: "It's dangerous, it's illegal, and it's cruel."

According to the Government of Western Australia's Department of Parks and Wildlife, the "dangerously venomous" tiger snake typically hunts "small mammals, frogs and lizards, and are active during the day and at night in warm weather." (Remember, it's the middle of summer right now for Australians.) If you're unlucky enough to find a snake, "Do not approach or aggravate it in any way." Why? They explain, "Most bites occur when people accidentally step on snakes, or while attempting to kill them."

The Christmas-tree-climbing snake might be safe and free now, but he's definitely on Santa's naughty list.

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