We covered many weird animal-car encounters in recent months. This includes an elk with a tire around its head and foxes getting loopy after chewing on brake lines. Now, there’s another strange animal-related car encounter. In Australia, a snake tried to hitch a ride on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. This follows a similar story in which a family found a snake on the rearview mirror of a car.

Common tree snake curls up under the seat of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle in Australia

Sean Cade, the founder of Australia Snake Catchers, a snake removal service, was contacted by homeowners in Galston, New South Wales, Australia, as reported by Newsweek. He arrived at the property to find a common tree snake curled up under the seat of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle parked in a garage. The homeowners told Cade that they “didn’t think it was a good idea to let the snake take a ride, so [they] called him to remove the hitchhiker.”

Snake catcher goes to work and removes the snake from the Harley

Upon his arrival at the property, Cade went to work. With the help of the homeowner, he unscrewed and removed the seat of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle. The owner then “braced himself and quickly removed the saddle to reveal the snake comfortably curled up underneath.”

Cade assessed the situation to figure out the best way to “remove the hitchhiker” snake. When he first tried to lift the snake out of the Harley, its head got “caught on something.” Cade then eased the snake’s “head out of the motorcycle and managed to free it completely.” The snake briefly lunged toward Cade, but it was not able to bite him. 

Snake bites the snake catcher while he took a picture 

After successfully removing the snake from the Harley-Davidson motorcycle, Cade took a picture of it. However, the snake, which was “agitated at having been removed from his hiding place,” bit Cade. In an interview with Newsweek, Cade said that “the snake was not angry per se, just frightened … this particular fellow was obviously upset about being ejected from a potential ride on a Harley.” He went on to say that getting bit by the snake while taking a photo was a “rookie error.”

The snake didn’t cause any serious harm to Cade, though. Common tree snakes, which are from the colubrid family, are a nonvenomous and harmless species. Also, they typically don’t bite humans. Common tree snakes can grow to as much as six feet long, but usually are a little over three feet. 

Snake likely went into the Harley in search of a warm place to rest

Right now, the summer season in Australia, is the busiest time of the year for Cade and his snake catching service. He currently does “10 to 12 snake rescues per day.” The reason why summer is so busy is due to the warmer weather. Snakes are cold-blooded reptiles, so they need external heat to keep warm to help their “bodies digest food and maintain respiration.” Snakes come out of hiding during warm weather in search of external heat. The Harley-Davidson motorcycle likely provided an enticing external heat source for the snake. 

In addition to a motorcycle, Cade removes snakes from “all types of situations.” This includes cars, homes, swimming pools, theme parks, and childcare centers. Cade said that the snake went into the Harley after it “fell from into the garage from the roof.”