I parked this in BB while BCUK was down. More herpetologists here I would think.
I dont believe in bothering wildlife and try and leave them alone especially snakes. I encounter them reasonably often and either avoid or shoo them away if they dont move on their own accord.
But this fellow was in a risky situation and had to be relocated as he was too close to too many people. There is nothing as dangerous as scared human beings and he was going to get hurt or worse, especially since he had just bitten someone.
So we went to a quiet place till I felt confident of moving him through a built up area back to the forest without him trying to escape and having to be forcibly restrained. It was a good opportunity to play with my new cameras video feature.
It is a Long Nosed whip snake. They grow to about 1.5m max and this fellow was almost fully grown. The skin is wonderfully smooth, softer than any snake Ive ever handled in the past. The face has a great expression of supercilious boredom
Most people think they are not poisonous, and so did I until I discovered that they are in fact poisonous. They have a muscle paralyzing venom that gets the rodents and reptiles that make their diet. But they are unlikely to knock off anyone except through a heart attack or an allergy. About all youd get is a few days of swelling in the affected limb.
When I was filming him/her an ant got in the act and repeatedly got onto the snake. The snake was tolerant but it was interesting to see how to get rid of an ant if you have no arms.
I dont believe in bothering wildlife and try and leave them alone especially snakes. I encounter them reasonably often and either avoid or shoo them away if they dont move on their own accord.
But this fellow was in a risky situation and had to be relocated as he was too close to too many people. There is nothing as dangerous as scared human beings and he was going to get hurt or worse, especially since he had just bitten someone.
So we went to a quiet place till I felt confident of moving him through a built up area back to the forest without him trying to escape and having to be forcibly restrained. It was a good opportunity to play with my new cameras video feature.
It is a Long Nosed whip snake. They grow to about 1.5m max and this fellow was almost fully grown. The skin is wonderfully smooth, softer than any snake Ive ever handled in the past. The face has a great expression of supercilious boredom
Most people think they are not poisonous, and so did I until I discovered that they are in fact poisonous. They have a muscle paralyzing venom that gets the rodents and reptiles that make their diet. But they are unlikely to knock off anyone except through a heart attack or an allergy. About all youd get is a few days of swelling in the affected limb.
When I was filming him/her an ant got in the act and repeatedly got onto the snake. The snake was tolerant but it was interesting to see how to get rid of an ant if you have no arms.
