Stowing away in an airplane is pretty difficult these days — unless you’re a snake, apparently. After her flight from Queensland, Australia, to Scotland, this woman discovered an unexpected flying companion hidden away in her luggage. While unpacking, Maria Boxall found a python curled up in her shoe; it had made itself so at home, in fact, that it even molted its skin inside the shoe. At first, she thought it was a practical joke, but when it began to move she realized the snake was very much real — and alive.
Photo: Heart Scotland News/Twitter
Woman Discovers Python Hiding in Her Luggage After a Flight From Australia
Snake on a plane! A woman from Bridge of Allan’s found more than she bargained for when she unpacked her suitcase following a holiday in Australia. The spotted python’s now being looked after by the @ScottishSPCA 🐍 pic.twitter.com/ljfxoljbE9
— Heart Scotland News (@HeartScotNews) February 25, 2019
While Boxall still isn’t quite sure how the snake found its way into her shoe, she did recall spotting a snake in her room prior to leaving Australia though believed it had left her alone. Clearly, it did not. Upon discovering the snake, she called the Scottish Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA), which retrieved the snake and identified it as the non-dangerous spotted python. In an emailed statement to NPR, rescue officer Taylor Johnstone said, “When I arrived, the snake had been contained by the caller, so I safely removed the snake from the property.”
After 9,000 miles of traveling, the snake finally parted ways with Boxall and was placed in quarantine in Edinburgh. Most likely, it will be given to a zoo sometime in the near future. 
H/T: Thrillist