Alex Trejo has no fear of deadly creatures. Trejo, who leads the humane So-Cal Rattlesnake Removal and is known locally as the “rattlesnake hero,” has seen it all. Trejo couldn’t help but chuckle in surprise when he recently witnessed someone hazardous floating on a backyard pool skimmer. “I thought it was pretty funny,” Trejo explained to The Dodo.

“It looked like he was on a cruise ship.”The mischievous sailor was a tiny rattlesnake that had slithered onto the skimmer by accident and was now stranded at sea. Despite the amusement, Trejo realized the tiny fellow was stuck and that he had to assist. Rattlesnakes can and often do swim, according to AAAC Wildlife Removal.

However, these snakes do not appreciate being in the water and will usually only enter if necessary.Trejo stood at the pool’s edge, ready to catch the snake. “My plan was to wait until the skimmer got close enough to grab him with my tongs,” Trejo explained.The skimmer finally got close enough. Trejo carefully removed the snake from the skimmer with a screwdriver and placed it in a pail.

The young snake was safely returned to shore and released in a familiar spot approximately a mile from where he was discovered. The snake slithering back into the wild must have been relieved that his voyage on the high seas had come to an end.