Georgia Sonic workers find large python behind deep fryer
BRUNSWICK, Ga. - Workers cooking burgers and tater tots at a Georgia Sonic fast-food kitchen fled after discovering an intruder hiding behind the deep fryer.
Brunswick police Lt. Matthew Wilson found employees of the Sonic drive-in huddled in the parking lot when he arrived to investigate last Saturday. On the phone they had described the culprit as brown with diamonds on its back.
"When I saw it, I could tell it was just a ball python and not a rattlesnake," Wilson told The Brunswick News.
He not only removed the large, non-venomous snake, but also found it a new home with a friend who has a large terrarium and a fondness for snakes.
Wilson says the python likely slipped into the Sonic’s kitchen on May 21 through an open back door, finding a cozy spot for its cold-blooded body behind the hot fryer.
Police don’t know where the snake came from, though Wilson says it had likely been a pet that got turned loose by its owner.
Signage stands outside a Sonic Corp. drive-in fast food restaurant in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Eammon Leonard, an invasive species biologist with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, told The Brunswick News that snakes are often an impulse buy for people looking for an adventurous pet.
"It could be somebody just didn’t think through the consequences of a large snake as a pet," Leonard said. "Some people have regrets later on and just release things. It is definitely irresponsible."
Wilson says its wasn't the first python report they've had in the last three or four months.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.