SUAMICO, Wis. – Imagine putting a dollar in a soda-pop vending machine and out comes a snake. That’s not quite what happened at the Northeast Wisconsin Zoo, but such was a tale that went viral on social media. Zoo visitors indeed reported snakes near the machine. When an attendant arrived and opened the machine, yes, there was snake inside. Angela Kawski, the zoo education coordinator, was unfazed. “It’s not uncommon to have wild snakes on the property,” she said. The snake was harmless, either a hognose or a fox snake, Kawasaki said. She theorized that the snake was looking for rodents: “A snake just smelled something tasty to eat and was looking for a lunch.” The machine’s refrigeration system, she said, is sealed and no way could snake come out with a can of soda.
Suspect soda machines. At Northeast Wisconsin Zoo.
Nonvenomous. Either a common hognose or fox snake.