BREMERTON, Wash. — Firefighters in Bremerton had to pry a 10-foot-long Burmese python off a woman after the snake bit her and wrapped around her leg.
An employee at the Bremerton Bug Museum was moving the snake, named Stella, when the reptile caught the scent of freshly thawed rodents meant for other snakes on display.
Museum owner Chris Jones said Stella went into feeding mode and her heat sensors fixed on the first warm object in the room, clamping down on the woman's leg.
“It wasn’t an attack,” said Jones. “It was a food response.” Jones said the employee had no experience handling large reptiles.
Central Kitsap fire and rescue was called and had to pry Stella off the employee. The snake was still biting and had wrapped around her leg.
The employee suffered only minor scrapes and cuts and was treated and released from a nearby hospital.
Bug Museum owner Chris Jones says the whole incident was harder on Stella than the employee. “That can be traumatic for the snake, they can lose teeth.”
The Bug Museum is small and privately owned. It's free to visitors and survives on donations and the sale of some souvenirs. Owners said Stella was donated several years ago by a woman who kept her as a pet but moved to Seattle where large reptiles are prohibited.
Stella is friendly, curious and not dangerous according to her owners. But the story of her bite has gotten the museum a lot of attention nationwide.
“My sister knew about it in Indiana. A lady this morning [said] her husband knew about it in San Diego.”
Stella is back on display at the museum. The employee is back on the job but didn’t want to talk about the incident.
KIRO
