While preparing for the lunch rush at a roadside grill on Maui, Nahiku resident Roy Hanks made an unsettling find: a dead snake inside a bag of charcoal, according to Hawaii News Now.
His wife, Sharon Fillazar-Hanks, who manages Hana Hawaiian BBQ, said she did not believe him at first until he sent her a photo.
Here's what to know
The snake turned up on Oct. 24 in Hana Hawaiian BBQ's roadside setup at Nahiku Marketplace near mile 29 on Hana Highway, where Hanks was working the huli huli chicken grill.
Fillazar-Hanks, who manages the business, said Hanks saw the animal when he opened a bag to add more charcoal to the fire.
"He sent a picture," Fillazar-Hanks recalled. "I thought it was a prank, but it wasn't. It was real, but it was dead."
Fillazar-Hanks called police after the discovery, and officers then checked with the Hawaii Department of Agriculture's Quarantine Division.
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They were told they could dispose of the snake.
Officials have not definitively identified the animal. Based on photos, state officials told Hawaii News Now it was probably a nonvenomous rat snake.
The department added that the charcoal bag had been packaged outside the state.
More background
Packaging, shipping, and retail transport can move animals far beyond their native habitats, sometimes without anyone noticing until someone opens a bag or unpacks a box.
These systems often shape encounters between people and wildlife, a dynamic explored in a broader BBC investigation into what's driving the increasing rate of human-wildlife encounters.
The family was doing routine pre-lunch prep at the grill when the discovery upended their day. Instead of focusing on charcoal and chicken, they ended up dealing with police and state quarantine officials.
Even after they found the snake, no one agreed on exactly what it was.
Fillazar-Hanks said people suggested everything from a possible juvenile copperhead to a rat snake.
What can be done?
The state advises reporting any snake, dead or alive, to its pest hotline at 808-643-PEST.
That gives agriculture officials a chance to assess what was found and whether it may have arrived through imported goods.
If something unusual turns up in a bag, box, or shipment, alert authorities rather than trying to identify the species on your own.
For Fillazar-Hanks, the debate over whether it was a copperhead or a rat snake missed the larger point.
"Some people say possible juvenile copperhead snake. Then one said a rat snake. I'm like, a snake is a snake. We don't need it here," she told Hawaii News Now.
Where can I learn more?
Snakes have turned up in plenty of unlikely places beyond Maui, from homes and stores to restaurant kitchens. The articles here cover pythons and other snakes found in doorways, on dinner tables, and on rooftops.
• In Honolulu, a dog led residents to a python under the door after spotting movement.
• In Kenya, a huge snake fell from the roof onto Mama Jimmy's ugali dinner table.
• In Queensland, an intense roof smell led residents to a dead python and a warning.
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