Police reports in the Adams Morgan area of our nation’s capital detail recent occurrences of snakes falling out of trees and onto children.
Police believe the intimidating inhabitants of Walter Pierce park to be black rat snakes, WTOP reports.
The snakes fell out of trees in a playground near the National Zoo, which caused panic among the children. Black rat snakes are not poisonous, but they do constrict their small prey to kill it. The responding officer was able to capture a small one in a water bottle.
Officials at the zoo said there is nothing to fear from the reptile rain, but they will “attempt to protect themselves,” according to a National Zoo fact sheet.
“They coil their body and vibrate their tails in dead leaves to simulate a rattle,” the zoo says. “If the snakes continue to be provoked, they will strike.”
They tend to grow between four and six feet, with the record length being eight feet. They live in trees, but are most likely falling out of the trees due to an intense heat wave.
There also are sightings of northern brown snakes being reported, which is another non-venomous snake native to the Mid-Atlantic region.