‘Mildly Venomous’ Snake Found In Banana Shipment At Market Basket

MANCHESTER, NH — A “mildly venomous” snake found in a batch of bananas at a local Market Basket is now in the custody of a reptile show with the help of the New Hampshire Fish & Game Department.

A conservation officer was requested to go to the Manchester Market Basket Saturday after employees discovered a snake inside the store’s banana shipment. The conservation officer, who said he was “pretty familiar with snakes,” identified it as an Ornate Cat-eyed snake, a mildly venomous species from Ecuador. The officer noted venomous species, except the hog-nosed snake, are illegal to possess in the Granite State.

The snake — which Fish & Game called a “hitchhiker” on Facebook, was donated to Rainforest Reptile Shows Inc. and is now safe and secure.

Do you have a news tip? Please email it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella's YouTube.com channel or Rumble.com channel. Follow the NH politics Twitter account @NHPatchPolitics for all our campaign coverage.