Student Brings 5-foot Boa To School

A 5-foot-long boa constrictor caught slithering around a middle school had some help getting to class. His owner, a student at Wooddale Middle School, smuggled the reptile in his backpack recently. The student, who was not identified by school officials, was disciplined. Boa constrictors, which squeeze their prey to kill, are not poisonous and the snake was not considered dangerous to students. School officials called police after finding the snake, which was taken to Memphis Animal Services to be reclaimed by the student's parents.