Villagers came to the rescue of students of Picton Presbyterian School on Wednesday after a five-foot snake dropped off a rubbish truck and slithered into the school compound shortly before midday.
Fortunately, the children were still in classes.
The reptile drew screams from some passersby who quickly called villagers Nicolas Paul and Larry Guevarro.
Speaking with Guardian Media, Guevarro said he was at home when Paul came shouting to him that a snake was in the schoolyard.
Being an avid hunter and the parent of a child attending the school, Guevarro ran to the building and called out to the teachers to open the gate.
“I put something on the snake’s head and then I caught it. I have some experience with snakes because I’m always meeting macajuel when I’m hunting,” Guevarro added.
He said most of the children were unaware that there was a snake in the yard. Except for three teachers and the janitor, the yard was vacant.
Guevarro said he was unwilling to kill the snake, and instead took it home and placed in inside a fishing bin.
They then called the Zoological Society and the media.
Guevarro called on the Ministry of Education to spray the school in case there were other creatures on the compound.
Calls were later made to Game Warden Steve Seepersad and a team from the San Fernando Forestry Department visited the area and took control of the snake.
Seepersad said the snake was a five-foot macajuel.
Commending the villagers for not killing the snake, Seepersad said, “They did was the right thing by calling the officials. People have phobias about snakes and usually, they will kill it. The macajuel is harmless and non-venomous and it should be protected,” Seepersad added.
He said it was unlikely that the snake had dropped out of a rubbish truck.
“It may have been in search of rats, probably it was hunting and went to the garbage to catch the rats,” he added.
He called on other villagers to emulate the Picton residents saying no snake should be killed.
Seepersad said they planned to release the snake into an area not populated by people or houses.