Swarthmore police Chief Brian Craig says residents have been alerted out of “an abundance of caution” after a seven-foot boa constrictor slithered away from the home of the eastern Pennsylvania veterinarian who owns it.
Craig says the recent python attack in Canada, in which the snake killed two young boys as they slept, may affect how people in Swarthmore react to the boa on the loose. But Craig stresses that the boa constrictor is a completely different snake that is smaller and of a different temperament than a python.
Police and the snake's owner, David Spiegel, say the snake likely doesn't pose a risk to humans or even most pets - though it may well attack small rodents.
Spiegel says the snake slipped away once before and was returned.
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