Security checks were under way just before boarding. As usual, a woman passenger's luggage went through the X-ray machine, and the airport security officers were astonished when they looked at the screen: next to shoes and a laptop lay a coiled object.

On inspection it turned out to be a live snake: a four-foot boa constrictor, which is not venomous but can kill its prey by coiling round it and suffocating it.

Security staff at Tampa International Airport in Florida, United States, had this experience last month. A few days ago the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which handles security at the airport, posted about it on social media, including the X-ray image on Instagram, and the woman's exploit caused a stir.

After the snake was seen, she was questioned. She said the snake was her pet, named Bartholomew. It is not clear whether she eventually had to board the plane without her pet.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.