Cottonmouth snake discovered inside Arkansas high school football helmet
A high school player in Maumelle, Arkansas, found a live cottonmouth snake lodged in his helmet, prompting animal services to remove and release the reptile.
Animal services in Maumelle, Arkansas, responded to a report from Maumelle High School that a snake had been found inside a football helmet. The incident occurred on Thursday, and the player had worn the helmet for about an hour before noticing movement and alerting the defensive coordinator.
"The student in question did feel something kind of moving on his head and, he took his helmet off and alerted the defensive coordinator that 'Hey, there is a snake in my helmet.'" – Nick Farr, executive principal of Maumelle High School.
Lead animal control officer Amy Eoff said the reptile was initially thought to be a copperhead, but examination confirmed it was a cottonmouth, a venomous species common in the Deep South and parts of the Midwest. Director Chris Davis noted that two officers found the snake lodged in the helmet padding and that standard tools could not extract it.
The animal services team placed the helmet in a water-filled container, allowing the snake to surface for air before removing it. The live cottonmouth was later released at another location.
"Everybody should be cautious leaving anything outside," Eoff said. "Snakes will curl up into anything. Most of the time these snakes are not trying to harm anybody, but they are fierce, so if anybody reaches in, they're probably going to snap because they're terrified."