High school player practices with venomous snake hidden in helmet in Arkansas
A Maumelle, Arkansas high school football player spent nearly an hour practicing after a cottonmouth snake was found inside his helmet, according to local authorities.
A high school football player at Maumelle High School in Arkansas continued a practice session after a two-foot cottonmouth snake was discovered hidden in his helmet. The student felt movement inside the headgear, alerted an assistant coach and officials were called to the scene. Police and animal-control officers initially thought the reptile might be a copperhead, but identified it as a cottonmouth, a venomous water moccasin common to the state.
To coax the snake out, officers placed the helmet in a tub of water, but the semi-aquatic snake remained inside. After it eventually emerged, an officer captured it with a grabber tool and the animal was later released in a wooded area away from the school. The player reportedly switched to another helmet and resumed practice without injury.
Maumelle Animal Services director Chris Davis said the incident was unprecedented, noting he had removed snakes from car vents, engines, purses and backpacks but never from a helmet. Cottonmouths are one of six venomous snake species found in Arkansas, which also include copperheads, three rattlesnake species and the Texas coral snake.