WINDSOR STAR (Ontario) 27 September 06 Slithery find at border - Rare hog-nosed snake discovered at tunnel plaza (Chris Thompson)
When a creature is captured by the Canada Border Services Agency illegally entering Canada, it's Dr. Jim Sweetman who comes to the rescue.
On Tuesday morning the downtown veterinarian was summoned for a snake that is extremely rare in Ontario -- an eastern hog-nosed snake -- that was discovered somewhere in the plaza at the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel.
"It's the first one I've ever seen," said Sweetman, who works near the tunnel at the Downtown Veterinary Hospital on Tuscarora Street.
Sweetman was unsure what the snake was and e-mailed a photo of it to an Environment Canada scientist, who confirmed its identity.
Canada Border Services Agency spokeswoman Andrea Kent confirmed the snake was discovered and Sweetman was summoned.
"At no time was there any threat to the public," said Kent.
Sweetman is keeping the foot-long reptile in a pillow case while awaiting word from Environment Canada on what to do with it.
"It will bite," said Sweetman, who has been summoned to the tunnel previously to retrieve everything from turtles to pythons that smugglers have tried to bring into the country.
Kent wouldn't speculate on how the snake got there.
"There was no enforcement action in relation to this individual," said Kent.
The eastern hog-nosed snake is more common in the eastern United States.
According to the website of the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), Ontario is the northernmost territory where the snake is found, and is rare here.
It is found in an area stretching from eastern Chatham-Kent and Lambton County to London and south to Lake Erie, and also in southern Georgian Bay, Lake Simcoe and Algonquin Park north to Lake Nipissing.
The snake's behaviour when confronted or startled is similar to that of a cobra, which often leads people to kill it.
When threatened the snake rears its back and flattens its neck out and will strike with its head, although it rarely bites, according to the ROM.
When the display fails to scare off its tormentor, the snake rolls on its back and faints. When it revives, it will flee.
The snake's name comes from elongated scales on its snout.
Threatened Species: The eastern hog-nosed snake is on provincial and national threatened species lists. It is protected under Ontario's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act.

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