Amsterdam police handling what appeared to be an ordinary vehicle move received an unexpected surprise when they found two live pythons hidden in the car's center console.
The same car also held a box of live mice and a fish.
Here's what to know
After the discovery, officers took the car and its animals to Hoofddorp, where they later turned the animals over to a shelter. According to NL Times, Amsterdam police shared details about the find in a Facebook post.
Keeping pythons is legal in the Netherlands, but transporting them is regulated, including requirements for adequate space and ventilation.
Unusual animal encounters often tie back to human behavior, especially when animals are confined, transported, or kept in conditions they were never meant to handle.
More background
Amsterdam had already seen another strange python incident in July: security at Schiphol Airport stopped a Canadian woman who was allegedly trying to board a plane with a ball python in her bra.
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After security found the snake, she said it had appeared in her Amsterdam hotel room. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority was skeptical of that explanation, and the reptile was later placed with a shelter.
Taken together, the two incidents show exotic animals ending up in stressful, unsafe situations because of human choices, not because the animals sought conflict. Encounters often escalate when people move, confine, or mishandle animals.
The pythons weren't reported to have harmed anyone, but any hidden live animal in a vehicle can complicate a basic public safety task. The mice and fish suggest the car was being used to transport multiple animals at once.
In its response to the incident, the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority reminded residents, "You are not allowed to simply take protected animals with you on a trip."
Where can I learn more?
Hidden snakes have turned up in other unconventional places too, including dashboards, engines, and other cramped spaces.
• In Queensland, a driver opened the glove box and found a python staring back.
• In New Jersey, police freed a ball python wedged in a car grille.
• In Ontario, a trapped python climbed calmly from a vehicle engine onto an officer's arm.
• In England, police used simple tools to pull a 4-foot boa from a car engine.
• In India, rescuers found a massive python inside a parked car's bonnet.
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