A potentially dangerous situation turned out to be a mere false alarm for one woman in Singapore.
Snake on her patio?
The woman recounted the incident in a TikTok video posted on Jul. 11, 2023.
She had spotted what she thought was a snake on her patio, which she said "scared the sh*t outta me".
Screenshot via TikTok.
She said that she called Acres for help. She also sought help from two gardeners.
It was just a toy
In the video, the two gardeners were seen at the end of the patio.
One of them reached for the snake with what looked like a long squeegee.
Using the equipment, he brought the snake closer to him.
Screenshot via TikTok.
Upon closer inspection, he realised that the snake was in fact just a toy.
He subsequently lifted the toy to show that it was harmless.
The other gardener behind him had a smile on his face when he too realised what the "snake" actually was.
Gif adapted via TikTok.
The woman later explained that the toy snake was left on the patio by her son's friend.
She has a fear of snakes
The video garnered over 50,000 views as of the time this article was written.
While viewers generally found the incident amusing, a few commenters expressed their displeasure, claiming that the woman had wasted Acres' time and had unnecessarily troubled the gardeners.
The woman, who told Mothership that she has herpetophobia (a fear of reptiles, especially snakes), explained that Acres was helpful.
When she called them, they requested for a video to assess the situation.
After they confirmed it to be a rubber snake, they advised her to get help.
Responding to queries from Mothership, co-CEO of Acres Kalai Vanan said that the Acres wildlife rescue team has attended to cases of mistaken identities before.
"Rubber snakes, pieces of string/wire, broom sticks and even jackfruit seeds are unusual cases where people have mistaken them for snakes and lizards.
For rubber snakes, we can usually tell from photos if they are life animals or not. Rubber toys tend to be stiff, and this can be a give away compared to a real animal."
Kalai explained that about a decade ago, there was a case of a wooden statue of a cobra that was floating off Yishun Avenue 1 which prompted many people to call Acres' hotline.
Kalai added: "If the public were to encounter such cases, keep a safe distance and observe the suspected animal. Take videos or clear photos and share with us via Whatsapp at 97837782. We would be able to advise better."
Top images via TikTok.