MELAKA: A teacher got a shock when she noticed what looked like a King Cobra under one of the tables in a class at Block C of SMK Seri Mahkota in Merlimau.
As she watched the snake slithered into a table drawer.
Civil Defence Force members were called in to catch the snake, which turned out to be a Copperhead Racer, or rat snake.
Unlike the highly venomous copperheads found in the Americas, the Copperhead Racer is a non-venomous species of colubrid snake, found mainly in Thailand and the Malaysian peninsula.
Civil Defence Force operation leader Osman Ahmad said a distress call was received about 11.50am.
“When we arrived about noon, the teacher described to us the colour of the snake and the patterns on its body. We immediately realised that this was a non-venomous snake.
“We immediately set about going through the drawers and when one of my men found it, he caught it with his hand. We confirmed that it was a Copperhead Racer... it is non-venomous but will still bite you.
Osman described the 1.5m-long snake as having the same physical attributes of a King Cobra, but only ate rats.
He said the snake could move fast and has the ability to “launch” itself through the air.
School alumni association chairman Zainal Mahadi said the dilapidated condition of the school, where the classrooms do not have doors and windows, made it easy for animals to enter.
He said this was worrying as the safety of the students could be threatened.