Python spotted on Burnaby Mountain

Officials in Burnaby, B.C., are asking residents to keep an eye out for an exotic reptile slithering about the woods.

The metre-long snake, which is believed to be a ball python, was spotted by a city employee on Burnaby Mountain on Monday.

The worker snapped a photo and confirmed with the Wildlife Rescue Association that the species was not indigenous to Canada.

"We don't know how it got there, but once we got that [the identification] we went back to retrieve it, but it had slipped off in the bush," saidcity parks director Dave Ellenwood.

Anyone who sees it should contact the city or the Burnaby SPCA, Ellenwood recommended.

"We've been told it's non venomous and small. These types of snake usually retreat from humans. But I wouldn't advise anyone to try to catch it. Leave that to the authorities," he said

"We have staff up there making people aware and hopefully it'll be tracked down or appear again and we'll collect it. They'd probably grab it and put it in a Tupperware container."

Ellenwood said the snake was likely a pet that someone could no longer care for.

"We think somebody has irresponsibly dumped a pet they couldn't manage."

He said it is not common, but it does happen from time to time.

"We've had anything from snakes to lizards to those small turtles that grow into big turtles. People dump them off and we have to deal with them."