Most parents are used to hearing their children coming across spiders, woodlice and slugs in the back garden but one Offaly mother had quite the shock when her son discovered one of the world's deadliest snakes while out and about.
Speaking to Dermot and Dave, James Hennessy from the National Reptile Zoo explained how he got a call from the Kilmurray family in Offaly after 9-year-old Fionn found a snake in the garden of their family home.
What the Kilmurray family didn't know was that it was a 'saw-scaled viper' which is one of the world's deadliest snakes. While there are snakes that have more venom, their speed, aggression and ability to camouflage into their surroundings means that they cause more deaths than all other venomous snakes combined. Due to the fact that they don't exist on the island, there is very little anecdote available.
James told Dermot and Dave how it appears that the snake travelled over from another country in a shipment of limestone paving slabs and is now in the National Reptile Zoo where it'll be rehomed somewhere else in Europe.
