The snake rescued this Monday from Ribeira de São João, in Funchal, by the Madeiran Volunteer Firefighters with the collaboration of TFalcon Madeira, a company specialized in exotic birds, birds of prey and reptiles, is harmless to Man.
According to Davina Falcão, coordinator of the Cobras de Portugal project, the rescued animal is “a horseshoe snake, a harmless species found in mainland Portugal”. She admits that this reptile may have been “brought by accident from the mainland in merchandise”.
The snake is for now in the custody of TFalcon Madeira, as a trustee, until otherwise determined by the Institute of Forests and Nature Conservation.