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A bank customer in Llodio, Alava, Spain, recently received quite a shock when "a snake came slithering out of the slot of a cash machine when he withdrew his money," according to a report by Euro Weekly News.

The incident reportedly happened at a Caja Madrid bank branch around 8 a.m. local time, when the customer stopped off to get some cash before he went to work. According to the news report, the man grabbed the cash and then alerted local authorities, who, together with the bank manager, discovered the machine's cash-dispensing mechanism had ensnared the reptile.

The snake was freed, boxed and taken to an animal shelter.

Whether the snake entered the ATM of its own volition or was introduced as a prank isn't known.

A 47-second Spanish-language video of the snake emerging from the ATM has been posted on YouTube and viewed several hundred times.

Snakes apparently aren't the only animals familiar with ATMs, judging by other YouTube videos. One shows what can only be described as a stunt bird flying up to a fake ATM, possibly made of cardboard, pecking at the screen, and then picking up a bill with its beak and flying back to its handler in a stage show. Cue audience applause.

Yet another video shows an assistance dog named Renae helping her owner Margie, a cerebral palsy sufferer, perform everyday tasks, such as removing Margie's shoes and socks -- and, you guessed it, getting cash from an ATM.

Okay, so Renae doesn't actually insert the plastic or punch the numbers, but the dog does take the money out of the slot and mouth it over to Margie, hopefully without much slobber. According to the video, Renae is trained to follow more than 100 commands.

Whether these stories are legit., we honestly don't know. Either way, the snake tale is a cautionary intersection of nature, man and machine. The bird and dog stories are, well we have to say it, just darned cute.

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