Woman, Snake Have Chance Encounter In Target Baked Bean Aisle

APEX, NC — A woman found something that definitely was not on her shopping list while browsing baked beans at a North Carolina Target store in Apex this week.

Diane Dupre thought someone was pranking her when she spotted a very long snake on the store shelf, she told Raleigh-based KRAL. While grabbing her own can of beans, she discovered her unexpected shopping companion was most certainly not a joke.

“As I zoomed in, I was going to take a photo, the tongue came out — and that’s how I knew this is a real snake,” she told KRAL.

Was it on its way outdoors after a long hibernation? Was it looking for a mate? Was it contemplating which is best — brown sugar or barbecue beans? We may never know.

But there was one thing Dupre knew: She was very much alone in that aisle, accompanied by a very real snake.

“I looked up and down the aisle, and I was calmly freaking out," Dupre explained, after telling KRAL that she had called store employees for help. "See, he’s slithering. Oh my gosh, I can’t even look at this. I’m telling the men to hurry.”

Despite Dupre’s anxiety, black rat snakes are non-venomous and not considered dangerous. The species, which is native to the central and eastern United States, tends to live in a variety of habitats, from rocky hillsides to flat farmland, according to the Maryland Zoo.

Black rat snakes mainly feed on rodents but also have a taste for frogs, lizards, birds, eggs and, at times, backyard cookout staples.

While they spend most of their time in trees, they also can be found in barns, abandoned buildings, trash piles and building rafters. They can also grow up to 9 feet in length.

The baked bean aisle at Target is not listed among their preferred habitats.

Target staff told KRAL the snake likely got into the store by hitching a ride on a shopping cart. It’s also possible the snake was hibernating in the store through winter.

Either way, the snake no longer has a staked claim among Target’s baked beans. Employees cut his grocery store adventure short when they released him back into the wild.