Did that headline just get you like Bear Grylls’ post about losing a venomous snake near Heathrow Airport got me? Earlier today, Grylls posted an April Fools’ Day joke on his Instagram profile, punking his community of 8 million followers (including me). I guess we really can’t believe everything we read on April 1, and I should have known better, but it did make me laugh once I realized what was going on. Grylls has a history of April Fools jokes on social media, and while most people in the comments section got the joke, a few people clearly didn’t.
“In response to rumours of a customs and quarantine breach I wanted to put out the below in way of explanation,” wrote Grylls in his April Fools post sharing a terrifying photo of an “albino taipan snake” with theatrically red eyes. “Yesterday there were some social media reports that an albino taipan snake that our team have been responsible for importing into the UK, had gone missing. The snake, which is the world’s most venomous reptile, was being held at a UK customs and quarantine centre near Heathrow, and during feeding, when the containment hatch was opened, the snake escaped.”
Grylls goes on to reassure the general public that the danger is “minimum” and his team is working tirelessly to locate the snake. He also makes sure to remind folks that a taipan bite contains enough toxin to kill 50 adult humans.
See the April Fools’ Day joke post from Bear Grylls about a venomous snake on the loose here (but, I repeat, it’s not real):