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Nine-year-old Fionn Kilmurray was shocked in his back garden in Co Offaly today when he saw a snake, which happens to be one of the most dangerous reptiles in the world.
It is also the first time this species has been found in Ireland.
Her mother, Aoife Kilmurray, told RTÉ News that he alerted her to her strange discovery around lunchtime and urged her to come out and look. “She acted as cool as a cucumber.”
It turns out that the saw-scale viper is one of the most dangerous snakes and responsible for more deaths in the world than any other snake.
Aoife said they were unaware of how dangerous it was at first and everyone remained calm while she contacted the National Reptile Zoo to see what they had to do.
“They told me to put a box on top until they arrived.”
She said she’s glad she didn’t find out just how dangerous this snake was until an expert was in her garden in the town of Rhode.
James Hennessy, director of the National Reptile Zoo, said they knew from the photographs Aoife had sent of the snake how dangerous it was.
The poisonous snake is known to have arrived in Ireland in a shipment of stone from India.
You said this highlights the need for tighter control of loading and surprise content.
Hennessy will bring the snake to the premises of the National Reptile Zoo in Kilkenny, where they will decide what to do with it.
He said the saw-scale viper is likely to be sent to a research facility in the UK, where they conduct research against the venom.
According to Aoife, her son Fionn thinks the find is “just brilliant” and can’t wait to go to school tomorrow to show all of his classmates the pictures of the snake in his garden.
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