 A dogwalker was given the fright of his life when he spotted a rare snake slithering around central London. Chris Kutler, 59, was walking along Regent's Canal towpath nearby London Zoo when he saw the three-foot-long Aesculapian snake in the grass Thursday. His dog had been sniffing around the dark grey reptile along the bank and he feared it could be venomous. 'The dog stopped to look at something and I thought, 'what's that,' and it was a snake,' Chris said. 'I thought it might be an adder or grass snake but it was much too big for that. 'I realised I was next to the zoo and thought maybe it's escaped from the zoo. 'I was quite mesmerised by it but didn't know if it was poisonous.' Aesculapian snake, also known as a rat snake, is one of the largest snake species in Europe (Picture: Chris Kutler / SWNS) Chris' dog discovered the snake whilst they were out on a walk (Picture: Chris Kutler / SWNS) Regent's Canal is near London Zoo (Picture: Chris Kutler / SWNS) Chris said he phoned a friend who knows all things snakes and was told it was a harmless Aesculapian, also known as a rat snake. London Zoo said that the snake did not escape from the zoo. Aesculapian snakes can often be found slithering up trees and tucked away in bushes along the canal despite being non-native to the UK, being originally from southeastern Europe. Out of all the snakes living on the continent, they're among the largest, with one found to be more than two metres long. The snakes are named after the Greek god of medicine, with one wrapped around a rod being a symbol of medicine and healthcare. A colony of the non-venomous Aesculapian snakes have lived in the Camden dock area of north London for years, believed to have escaped from the zoo. 'London Zoo, any chance of you missing a snake?' one person tweeted last year after spotting a local Aesculapian. 'There is one on the side of){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
A dogwalker was given the fright of his life when he spotted a rare snake slithering around central London.
Chris Kutler, 59, was walking along Regent’s Canal towpath nearby London Zoo when he saw the three-foot-long Aesculapian snake in the grass Thursday.
His dog had been sniffing around the dark grey reptile along the bank and he feared it could be venomous.
‘The dog stopped to look at something and I thought, “what’s that,” and it was a snake,’ Chris said.