Thrashing snake hitches a ride on hood of couple's car

MACKAY, Australia, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- An Australian couple driving on a Queensland road captured footage of a hitchhiking snake having a difficult time on the hood of their car.

The video, posted to YouTube by Gaby McCloskey, features footage of the surprise serpent slithering out of the air vent on the hood of a moving car Sept. 11 near Mackay.

The snake thrashes from side to side in the wind while McCloskey films from the passenger seat of the vehicle.

McCloskey jumps in her seat when the snake loses its grip on the hood and ends up on the windshield, where it climbs to the driver's window.

McCloskey expresses alarm that the reptile is trying to get into the vehicle.

She said the snake eventually flew off the car and was last seen slithering away without apparent injuries.

"No snakes were harmed in this video, snake was off and happy back into nature," McCloskey wrote.

Janne Torkkola of Snake Out Brisbane Snake Catchers said the animal in the video appears to be a common tree snake, a nonvenomous species not considered dangerous to humans.

"Much of the wriggling behaviour is the snake simply trying to escape, however he appears stuck to the grille or under the hood," Torkkola told Yahoo7.