A two-metre South American boa constrictor is on the loose after police mistakenly believed it was a harmless python and set it free . A bizarre search is now unfolding on Queensland 's Gold Coast as authorities try to locate the reptile which could pose a threat to local wildlife and even people 's pet cats and dogs . Snake catcher Tony Harrison warned that if the large-predatory boa has Inclusion Body Disease 'it can be unbelievably contagious if that gets loose in Australia ' . Mr Harrison told Daily Mail Australia : 'Police should have called the snake catchers and we 'd have euthanised it . That was very silly of them . ' Scroll down for video . Queensland Police found the snake at the base of a tree on a footpath ( pictured ) in Surfers Paradise and then released it into the wild . Queensland Police say officers were called to The Esplanade at Surfers Paradise on or about March 26 , to respond to reports of a large snake spotted at the base of a tree on a footpath . The officers released the reptile into bushland at the Southport Spit , but the incident has since sparked an operation by Biosecurity Queensland officers who say the snake is n't a harmless python after all . Mr Harrison believes the snake - likely to be an illegal import that was kept as a pet - will be found 'within a month ' but there are fears if the boa is pregnant there could then be up to 30 live young on the loose . The reptile which could pose a threat to local wildlife and even people 's pet cats and dogs ( stock photo ) South American boa constrictors have varying patterns of cream , brown , tan , gray , and black with ovals and diamonds . 'They can eat up to three times their girth , no more or less than pythons and including a cat or small dog , but the biggest problem is if it was going to give birth , ' Mr Harrison warned . Biosecurity Queensland is working with the Gold Coast City Council in a bid to find the snake . 'Police originally caught it in a sheet after spotting it under a tree in Surfers Paradise before they released it in bushland at The Spit , ' a spokesman said . 'They say they captured the snake when it started moving towards people . ' South American boa constrictors are pinkish or tan in color and have varying patterns of cream , brown , tan , gray , and black with ovals and diamonds .
The boa constrictor is on the loose on Queensland 's Gold Coast . Police released it into the wild because they thought it was a python . Score: 6