Rattlesnake occupies walkway on Texas university campus

March 8 (UPI) -- A campus police officer at Texas A&M University-San Antonio was called into action when a venomous rattlesnake was spotted between two buildings on a main walkway.

The University Police Department said Officer Daniel Stoddard responded to a report of a snake on the walkway between the school's Science and Technology Building and the Auditorium.

Stoddard relocated the snake from the walkway to some bushes.

Charles Watson, associate professor of biology at Texas A&M, identified the serpent as a venomous Western Diamondback Rattlesnake.

"We have things for them to eat here, but chances are -- because we have all the construction -- all those animals that used to live there have to go somewhere," Watson told student newspaper The Mesquite. "And we'll probably see a number of animals passing through as they flee the construction."

Watson said rattlesnakes are highly venomous but unlikely to bite unless threatened.

"Avoid them by staying on well-lighted paths and just keep an eye out where you're walking," Watson said.

The Texas A&M campus in San Antonio is no stranger to wildlife encounters -- previous incidents have included scorpions, feral hogs, donkeys and coyotes.