A man is rattled after picking up a package at the Twentynine Palms Post Office earlier this month and receiving what he thinks was a murder attempt.
Elijah Bowles, 60, had a friend open the box as they drove away from the Post Office, only for her to find a rattlesnake inside, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
No one was bitten; the pair pulled over and Animal Control picked up the Western rattlesnake, a species that also goes by the name Northern Pacific Rattlesnake, indicating its typical home in Northern, but not Southern, California.
Rick Boyd, the Animal Control supervisor for the city of Twentynine Palms, told the Times that the snake appears to have been intentionally mailed. Bowles added that the 2-foot snake was surrounded by cotton balls to silence its rattle.
Rattlesnake expert Danielle Wall told the Times a rattlesnake can survive for up to six months without food and water.
“It is 100% possible for a snake to survive in the mail like that, as long as they don’t overheat or freeze,” she told the Times.
While this snake was safely captured, Bowles said a second package “virtually identical” to the first was sent to his home in Florida. His family took it to the police station without opening it.
“I’m trying to figure out, do I have any enemies?” he told the Times. “I’m not a gangster. I’m a truck driver.”
The United States Postal Inspection Service is investigating.