A Maumelle football helmet became the center of a wild scare in Arkansas when a high school player practiced for an hour with a cottonmouth snake hidden inside it before coaches found the animal. The discovery at Maumelle High School left staff stunned and prompted a response from local animal services.
Maumelle High School Athletic Director Kirk Horton said the moment caught everyone off guard when a player brought in his helmet during practice for a check. Inside, staff found a cottonmouth about two feet long. Horton said the reaction was one of immediate shock and disbelief, adding that in a decade on the job, he had never seen anything like it. The snake had apparently slipped beneath the helmet padding and stayed out of sight while the student kept practicing.
The player only became aware something was wrong after noticing an odd sensation inside the helmet. Once the school staff realized what was inside, they secured the helmet in a tote bag until Maumelle Animal Services arrived. Images from the rescue show animal workers submerging the helmet in a sink to encourage the snake to come out so it could be captured safely. The unusual handling turned a routine piece of sports gear into an emergency scene that few at the school will soon forget.
Chris Davis, director of Maumelle Animal Services, said he has dealt with snakes in all sorts of places, including car vents, engines, purses and backpacks, but never inside a football helmet. He described the situation as unreal and said pictures were needed just to prove it actually happened. Davis also said the cottonmouth is the second most venomous snake in Arkansas, behind the rattlesnake, and noted that the species tends to seek out dark, protected spaces.
