A snake was found inside a Nissan Leaf parked at U-Sell yard in Glenfield, Auckland. The vehicle was shipped from Nagoya, Japan on March 21. It arrived in New Zealand on April 7.
The reptile, spotted by customer, has been euthanized on Sunday night, Stuff.co.nz reported. Tests to determine its species follow.
Stuart Rawnsley, manager of cargo operations at the Ministry for Primary Industries, said two or three snakes are found in imported cars every year. He called the recent event "one of these things that happen."
Estimated to be 40cm long, the snake was caught after several hours, coiling around the vehicle's engine. Authorities had been contacted.
The New Zealand Herald cited statements from several witnesses. One woman said she was not scared of the creature, but was surprised seeing one.
"It was alarming because I don't want snakes moving into the country. It was quite a pretty little snake, waving its head around, but it's alarming anything can come into the country and gets missed. This car had a sticker saying it had passed its biosecurity, when clearly it shouldn't have," she said.
As a result of the discovery, biosecurity checks will be reviewed, Rawnsley pointed. Graeme McPheat, car yard director, informed that the vehicle will not be for sale and will be fumigated.
Convinced that the snake did not go anywhere but inside the car, McPheat said, "The [biosecurity] expert here is saying that because they are in a cold climate, it's very unlikely it would have gone anywhere other than inside the car, where it's warmer. We are 100 percent confident it's inside the car."
In other news, Nissan has announced the testing of its Leaf-based self-driving car prototype, the Albany Daily Star reported. According to the outlet, Nissan aims to test the vehicle's "Piloted Drive" mode, which, basically, controls the car under certain conditions. The mode's first version is expected on production models in late 2016.
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