This article first appeared on RTL.de.

"A bite can be deadly," assures Jan Cramer from the Bremerhaven fire brigade and reports on the difficult operation for the Bremerhaven rescue workers. On Sunday (October 16th) they face a special challenge: They have to capture a highly poisonous North American copperhead. He hid himself between used glass containers.

The snake is discovered by a frightened resident on Jakob-Kaiser-Strasse in Bremerhaven-Leherheide, not far from a children's playground. "He took his garbage away, came across the animal and then called the police," explains Jens Ammermann from the Bremerhaven police. The colleagues first call in the fire brigade, but then a real expert has to be called in. It is only when a reptile expert is determined that it becomes clear that the animal is highly poisonous. "The colleagues used material from the emergency vehicle, hardboard and wooden boards to build a provisional restraint to guide the snake into the transport box," says Jan Cramer, describing the extraordinary operation.

The Bremerhaven fire brigade is not only faced with difficulties in catching the animal. The search for a new place to live for the reptile is also difficult at first, because the owner cannot be located. "They're not that easy to get rid of. Poisonous snakes aren't exactly the profession that everyone wants. You have to be able to keep such an animal," reports Jan Cramer.

None of the zoos in the area would have wanted to accept the animal. "They don't even have the opportunity to accommodate this type of snake," he adds. In the end, however, a buyer is found. The Seelter reptile house in Saterland is happy about the special animal and still has capacity.