The snake was found in October and near propane tanks on a warehouse loading dock, per The Charlotte Observer, before it was captured by Marissa Maki of Rattlesnake Solutions, an Arizona-based snake removal and rattlesnake control company.
Maki told McClatchy News she knew it was a non-native rattlesnake immediately.
“After getting a better look, I was able to identify it as a timber rattlesnake, which I had never seen before,” Maki said. “I lost my mind a little. I’m pretty sure those people thought I was crazy. I was so excited and started asking a lot of questions about their business to narrow down how it got there.”
According to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, timber rattlesnakes are typically found across the eastern half of the U.S. They may be found as far north as New York and as far south as northern Florida.
Bryan Hughes, the owner of Rattlesnake Solutions, told Newsweek it was likely that the snake slithered its way onto a shipping truck bound for Arizona.
“It probably happens more than we know,” Hughes said. “There are things that come along shipping lines, but this is the first rattlesnake we caught.”
He said it is unlikely that a timber rattlesnake would survive in the wild because of Arizona’s climate. However, invasive species have thrived in other regions of the country.
Newsweek reported in November that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis invested $3 million to remove Burmese pythons from the Everglades. The population of these snakes has rapidly grown even as state officials have tried to control the population for decades.
Members of the public were invited to euthanize the pythons and were paid based on what they managed to kill.
Hughes told Newsweek that while Rattlesnake Solutions receives calls about a variety of different snakes, it mainly responds to rattlesnake calls throughout the year. He explained that the organization kept the snake to be used for educational purposes, and it will join an adult timber rattlesnake that was bred in captivity and gifted to Rattlesnake Solutions.
The organization has been working on building an enclosure for the snake, and Hughes said the reptile has been doing well. The educational outreach is meant to provide information to people about rattlesnakes.
“It will be working with us to help educate people about snakes,” he said. “Sometimes it will give empathy to people about the things they hate.”
