A 4ft-long yellow anaconda has been rescued by a street cleaner who found it lying next to a fence in Edinburgh.
Gordon Fraser initially thought the reptile was a toy until it moved and he realised it was alive.He coaxed the constrictor snake into a box and took it back to his depot before calling the Scottish SPCA.
The snake is now being cared for at the charity's Edinburgh and Lothians Animal Rescue and Rehoming Centre in Balerno, where staff have named it William.
Temperamental
Mr Fraser said: "I noticed the snake lying behind some cardboard next to a fence and thought it was a toy at first. Then it moved and I realised it was real."The snake looked in really poor condition so I tried to coax him into a cardboard box and we took him back to the depot.
"I'm pretty shocked to find out the snake is an anaconda.
"My colleagues kept telling me not to touch him but I don't think he would have survived for much longer if I hadn't helped him."
It is not known whether William escaped or was abandoned, and the charity has appealed for information about him.
June Chalcroft, of the Scottish SPCA, said: "Yellow anacondas need experienced owners as they are temperamental and will bite.
Extremely rare
"However, William was extremely thin and dehydrated when he was found curled up outside and he didn't put up a fight."We rescue all types of animals, including snakes, but they tend to be smaller species such as corn snakes. It's extremely rare for a 4ft anaconda to be found in public.
"After being treated at a vet's for three days, William is now being looked after at our rescue centre and is much brighter.
"At this stage we don't know how he came to be found outside. He may have escaped from home but we also have to consider the possibility he has been abandoned.
William was found on Saturday at West Pilton Bank.
Yellow anacondas are found naturally in Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, western Brazil and north-eastern Argentina. They inhabit swampy savannah, marshes, banks of rivers and streams.
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