Unexpected hitchhiker: Family drives their car with a snake on the windscreen, side mirror

SINGAPORE: A family in Singapore that found a surprise hitchhiker hanging on to their car posted about their experience on social media. Shouts and exclamations could be heard from the family’s younger members as a snake coiled around the car’s right-hand mirror.

The father, however, was more chill about the whole experience and could be heard admiring the snake’s beautiful colours.

Two videos of the incident were posted on the Singapore Wildlife Sightings Facebook page by Kenny Yap on Sunday (Dec 22), where it received a lot of attention and was shared by dozens of people.

In the videos, the snake can be seen tenaciously clinging to the car while children’s voices can be heard expressing disgust and perhaps even some fear. An older child can be heard telling the creature to “Go away” repeatedly, and the younger one calls it “dirty” and asks it to “get off.”

The dad, however, points out in a quiet voice, “The colour is really nice.”

Read also: “Looks like McDonald’s clown without bushy hair” — Albino milk snake spotted in Singapore

In comments on his post, Mr Yap posted more videos of the snake, showing it slithering along a pavement and endeavouring to climb stone blocks that would lead it to a plant box.

He posted one such video to answer a group member who called the snake “beautiful” and expressed the hope that it would survive the car ride. One netizen suggested that the post author park his car near a forested area and let it slide off the vehicle itself.

A number of group members, however, appeared to take the hitchhiker as a lucky sign, given that 2025 is the year of the snake.

Some commenters identified it as a paradise tree snake, also known as a paradise flying snake. The Chrysopelea paradisi may be found in many parts of Asia, including Brunei, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand.

Its rear fangs are, however, mildly venomous, so it is best to steer clear of the creature, which is able to constrict lizards and bats, its most common prey.

This type of snake is uncommon and usually lives in the trees in forests, which means that they do not usually interact with humans. A very rare case occurred when a woman in Sri Lanka was bitten on her thumb when she tried to close her bedroom window. /TISG

Read also: Venomous snake spotted at Bukit Panjang fitness corner