10-foot python surprises shoppers on supermarket shelf

Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Shoppers at a grocery store in Australia were shocked to discover a 10-foot python slithering across a shelf in the spice section.

Hilary Leigh posted a video to Facebook that showed the large snake she spotted on a shelf at the Woolworths store in Glenorie, a northwest suburb of Sydney.

Witness Helaina Alati said she was shopping for dinner ingredients when she came face-to-face with the python.

"It just wanted to say hello," Alati told Guardian Australia. "Dozens of people must have walked past it."

A Woolworths representative said workers cordoned off the area to keep customers safe.

Alati, who used to serve as a volunteer snake catcher, went home to retrieve equipment and returned to relocate the snake from the spice aisle to a more suitable habitat in the wild.

"It was chill, and not aggressive at all," Alati said. "It wasn't in a defensive position. It slithered right into the bag. I'm used to seeing snakes in weird places, but I wouldn't expect it to be in a Woolworths."