Watch: 10-Foot Python Spotted Near Customers in Supermarket

A video is going viral this week showing a 10-foot python slithering through a supermarket in Sydney, Australia. The snake appeared casually and unperturbed in the spice aisle in a video posted by Instagram user Helaina Alati on Monday. It has many viewers cracking jokes, but others running in pure terror.

“Was browsing the spice aisle in Woolies today and got a little surprise,” Alati wrote mildly alongside the video. In an interview with The Guardian Australia, Alati confirmed that she actually used to work as a snake handler and a wildlife rescuer. She said that when she saw this serpent she “brushed off the old snake catching bag and found old mate a more suitable home.”

“It just wanted to say hello,” Alati continued. “Dozens of people must have walked past it… It’s lucky I was the one it popped out to. Most people who have freaked out.”

Alati believed that this particular snake was not much of a threat to any other customers and passersby. She said: “It was chill, and not aggressive at all. It wasn’t in a defensive position. It slithered right into the bag. I’m used to seeing snakes in weird places, but I wouldn’t expect it to be in a Woolworths.”

Commenters had a field day with the whole experience, especially once they knew that it turned out okay for everyone. One Facebook user referred to the snake as a “good looking culprit,” and another called it a “lockdown offender.”

Overseas, most commenters took the snake as a general commentary on Australia itself. One user tweeted: “You will never ever find me on that horror movie that is masquerading as an island,” and other added: “Australia’s anti-tourism marketing is really something.” “Nope… never visiting Australia. If I find spiders in any of the rooms in my house I just let them colonise that room. My soul would leave my body if I witnessed this,” a third person wrote.

Many commenters are also still questioning how a snake this long found its way into a grocery store without being spotted or stopped before Alati arrived, though others seem unsurprised by this part. It is unclear what became of Alati’s fellow shopper after their encounter.