NEW ORLEANS — The movie 'Snakes on a Plane' is make believe. That is Hollywood.
Snake on the ferry is real. -- and this is New Orleans.
"It was terrifying. I ride the ferry five times a week at least, and never seen anything like that," said Elizabeth Carr, who shrieked when she saw the huge snake.
The esthetician at Rocket Science Salon was on her way home on the last ferry to Algiers Point Thursday night when the ferry stopped, and so did her heart.
"The captain stopped the ferry close to the Algiers side, got on the intercom and said, 'Stay away from the rope.' And then no one really knew what to do," she said.
"The deckhands got a little bit nervous and they brought it to the attention of the captain on duty," said Bert Donnes, who works for the RTA as the General Manager of Ferry Operations.
Elizabeth took out her phone and captured video.
No one on the Thomas Jefferson vessel claimed the reptile, which appears to be an exotic pet, a boa constrictor or a python maybe.
"As the snake crawled along the railing and it got to the part of the vessel where the deckhand would normally stand to tie the boat up and throw the mooring line, they were able to just push it off the boat with a mop," Donnes said.
Trapper John 'the Hogman' captures wild animals for people, and could only take an educated guess of how the snake got there.
"I think that the snake got on the ferry by means of a car or a truck. I think he climbed underneath the truck or underneath the hood, rode with the car, when the car stopped in the ferry, got off," said John Schmidt.
"I hope that snake's OK," said Carr, who said it went in the river.
The Thomas Jefferson Ferry is out of commission for now, but it has nothing to do with snake on a ferry. It's just for regular safety checks and service.