Snakelet hitchhikes on policeman's bike in Kerala

A baby snake, also called a snakelet, recently hitched a ride on a policeman's motorbike for 15 kms from the officer's police station to his home in Kozhikode district.

For Civil Police Officer (CPO) Shinoj, posted at Mavoor police station in the district, July 11 started out like any other day with him reaching the station in the morning, parking his bike there and getting on with his duties.

In the evening, after his duty time, he got on his bike and covered the around 15 kilometres distance back home, without stopping anywhere on the way, oblivious of the presence of the dangerous hitchhiker who had come along with him.

Speaking to PTI over the phone about the incident, the CPO said the snake revealed its presence after he reached home, took a bath and then was on his way to the vegetable market.

''As I approached the bike, I saw the snake's head sticking out from the bike. Then it slithered up onto the petrol tank and then moved to the two-wheeler's visor.

''I instinctively yelled out for my mom as soon as I saw the snake and soon everyone in the family gathered to find out what was happening. The snake, probably seeing all the people there, slithered back inside the bike and we could not see where it was hiding,'' Shinoj said.

Thereafter, we removed the seat of the bike and saw the snake curled up inside a small space there, he said and added that several attempts to remove it were not fruitful.

''Then my mother crushed some garlic and mixed it in water and sprinkled the same on the snake which quickly slithered out and escaped into the nearby bushes,'' he said.

The snake escaped into the bushes and was not caught by anyone, he added.

While he could not conclusively identify the species of the snake, he said that onlookers present there were of the view that it was a baby viper or a baby python.

''In any case, it was a narrow escape for me. I was lucky to escape. Imagine if it had come out while I was riding, an accident could have occurred in the ensuing panic. It could have also bit me,'' he said.

The CPO had posted the picture of his police station on the Whatsapp group, but it was shared everywhere and became viral.

As a result of this encounter, Shinoj's daily routine is no longer the same.

The day after the incident, before he left for the station, he checked the bike thoroughly, shook it around a bit, before daring to ride it back home.

''It will never be the same. It will always be there at the back of my mind before I get on the bike as to whether there is a snake hiding in there,'' he said.