40 pythons discovered in Canada hotel room

An investigation is under way after officers find dozens of snakes inside plastic storage bins in an Ontario hotel room, reports Sky News.

The reptiles were found in several plastic storage bins inside a room in Brantford, Ontario, where a couple who had been evicted from their home were staying, police said in a statement.

Officers have reportedly opened an investigation into the incident, but have not said whether the pair will be charged with breaking local laws that prohibit owning pythons.

The snakes, which ranged from 12 inches to five feet in length, were in poor health and have been taken in by the Canadian Society for the Protection of Animals.

The find comes 11 days after Connor and Noah Barthe, aged six and four, died in the eastern town of Campbellton, New Brunswick, Canada, when an African python escaped from its enclosure and killed them.

The boys had been enjoying a sleepover with a friend, whose father's private menagerie of exotic animals included the python.

Animal experts expressed astonishment at the tragedy, many of them noting that, while an African rock python is a dangerous animal capable of killing large prey, it would not normally attack humans.

The initial police investigation found that the snake probably managed to break out of its enclosure and then nosed through a ventilation duct which led into the boys' bedroom.