It's illegal to possess and transport snakes in Hawaii because if the non-native reptiles were to gain a foothold it could be devastating for native wildlife. So when a gopher snake was discovered Saturday in a shipment of Christmas trees being unloaded at a store in Hilo,

Photo from Bonnie Kittle via Unsplash A slithering 2-foot-long creature was found lurking in a shipment of Christmas trees to Hawaii, officials say. Workers of a Hilo store had unloaded about half of a shipment of Christmas trees the morning of Saturday ...

Shop workers unloading a supply of Christmas trees in Hawaii found an unexpected visitor hiding within the shipment.

Employees at a shop in Hilo made an unwanted discovery while unloading a shipment of Christmas trees over the weekend. Workers of the undisclosed location were about half way through unloading the container Saturday morning when they found a two-foot-long gopher snake.

State officials say a live snake was found in a container of Christmas trees as it was being unloaded for a store in Hilo over the weekend.

The reptile, later confirmed to be a non-venomous gopher snake, is now in the custody of the Hawaii Department of Agriculture