Guangzhou University City snake scare: Snakes on the loose at South China Normal University

HONG KONG -- Students at a university in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou were given a scare last week, after dozens of snakes invaded the campus.

The Guangzhou Daily reported Monday that animal control experts had caught around 40 live snakes on Saturday after a number of the reptiles were spotted writhing along a road in Guangzhou University City.

Around 60 snakes were also found dead, most squashed by traffic.

"On the way to the library I saw a green snake lying on the road in the sun, about 50 cm long," the newspaper quoted one student as writing on Sina Weibo, China's version of Twitter.

A student from South China Normal University, one of a number of institutions with colleges on the island campus, told her friends to be careful after finding about 60 snakes -- some run over by cars and other lurking in the grass.

An official at Sun Yat-Sen University contacted by CNN confirmed that snakes had been found but said they did not know any details.

Zhang Liang, from the South China Institute of Endangered Animals, identified the snakes as chequered keelbacks, a common species in the region, and said they were not poisonous.

"This kind of snake likes the sun. It's timid and will not hurt people," he said.

If they came across a snake, he said that students should call the city's wild animal protection bureau and not poke or try to catch it.

Zhang said he suspected that the snakes had been released deliberately. Most of the captured snakes had bite marks on their bodies, suggesting they had been kept in a confined space.

The snake invasion was not a signifier of an earthquake or other natural disaster, he cautioned, after students described the incident as an apocalyptic sign.