Snake in a car – officer to the rescue

I want to thank the Charlotte police officer who kindly stopped to help me recently.

As I was traveling in the left lane of I-485 near the Highway 74/airport exit, I saw, of all things, a snake crawling on the window ledge. On my side of the car!

After a lot of shaking and screaming with my mouth closed, I was able to get off the road. Of course, I jumped out of the car.

The officer noticed me standing outside my car and pulled over. He saw the snake, too, and called Animal Control. The officer waited with me until Animal Control came.

The Animal Control officer very bravely removed the snake (which turned out to be a copperhead!) from my glove compartment.

Thank you to two kind Mecklenburg County gentlemen. After being assured the snake had not left any of his family members in my car, I very gingerly drove home.

Beckie Kistler, Mount Holly

Editor’s note: We contacted local expert Michael Dorcas, the Nancy and Erwin Maddrey Professor of Biology at Davidson College, to ask how rare it is to find a snake inside one’s car. He asked, “Are they sure it was a copperhead?”

“There are other snakes frequently mistaken as copperheads, namely baby rat snakes,” Dorcas said. “There are a lot of baby rat snakes around right now (recently hatched) and they are much better climbers and more likely to get into a car.” Baby rat snakes are harmless to humans, Dorcas reports. The professor said “it’s unusual, but not unheard of, for a snake to get in a car.”

‘Rocking’ a kind gesture

My friend and I regularly walk the Mallard Creek/Clark’s Creek greenway in the University City area of Charlotte. In the past month or so, at numerous locations, someone has placed hand-painted rocks, a large one with the message “Take what you need” and smaller ones with personality characteristics such as “Wisdom,” “Self-Esteem,” “Wonder,” “Gratitude,” and similar traits that a person traversing the greenway might find they could use more of.

I think this is a wonderful idea and the person behind it must be a truly caring individual. The identity of this person may never be solved, but my friend and I want to thank the individual for taking the time to hand-paint and distribute these totems, and replenish the inventory as ones are taken.

Meredith Brady Trunk

Note: Are you the rock painter? Email rwilkerson@charlotteobserver.com

This story was originally published September 16, 2015 at 3:56 PM with the headline "Snake in a car – officer to the rescue."