With its resemblance to the venomous coral snake, the Pueblan milk snake that ended up in a Tofino front yard was a shock to residents Deddeda and Sean White.
“It was on the neighbour’s front lawn, laying in the grass – my husband thought it was a toy snake and put our 11-month-old daughter on the grass by it,†said Deddeda White.
“Then it slithered away – it was very shocking,†she said.
The Whites travel internationally for their careers in photography and film-making, so they had seen coral snakes in other environments, and only after snapping a quick picture of the creature could they be sure it had the stripes in the right places.
“Red touches yellow, kill a fellow – red touches black, friend to Jack†is a variation of the identification rhyme.
About 18 inches long and about an inch thick through the middle, the Pueblan milk snake – assuming that’s what it is – is far from its natural Mexican habitat.
“We’ve seen wolves and bears and raccoons (in the yard), but never a snake like this,†said Deddeda.
Before the snake was identified as a harmless variety, responses on social media ranged from “kill it with a machete†to “let it go,†she said.
A family interested in adopting the creature came out to look for it, but the nocturnally-oriented creature is proving shy in daytime after a morning warm-up.
The Whites would like someone to claim what has apparently been a pet on the West Coast of Vancouver Island with cooler fall temperatures around the corner.
“Hopefully we can find a good home for it, otherwise it will die of cold,†she said.
Tofino’s by-law department came by Wednesday and again Thursday to try to find the snake, she said.