PAPUA NEW GUINEA SNAKEBITE PROJECT
SANGARA BONANZA
My first job of the day, after breakfast of egg-bread*, was to release the nonvenomous snakes we had collected, now all photography, data and sample collection was completed. Peter, the Mamba Estate Manager, had told me about a patch of rainforest leading down to the river where he had previously released a python and when I recce'd it I thought it perfect. I took all the boas and pythons and the GoPro camera down into the barat (valley) and filmed the releases, first three small Bevel-nosed boas (Candoia paulsoni mcdowelli) followed by the three gravid adult females, then the New Guinea ground boa (Candoia aspera), the Amethystine python (Morelia amethistina) three Southern white-lipped pythons (Leiopython hoserae) into the creek, the largest finding a cave just large enough for itself under a rock, and finally the Green tree python (Morelia viridis) which I released up a epiphyte-shrouded tree and watched it climb away from hunters. Many herpers tell me they would like my job, to go out into remote parts of the tropics to catch the snakes of their dreams, green tree python, emerald tree boa, rainbow boa, Boelen's python, whatever, but their day dreams only go so far as the 'possession' part, catching and holding this wonderous serpent. I tell them to take the dream to the next stage, put the snake down on the ground or in a tree, touch it on the tail to get it moving, and then walk away empty-handed.
* Egg bread receipe: Dip one side of white bread into whisked up egg, then fry it in butter, both sides, simplez!
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| The barat where I released the boas and pythons |
While I was in the barat the guys were loading the vehicle and we set off when I returned with my empty snake bags, heading back to Higatura, the Ridge, and then hopefully out to Sangara to look for more New Guinea small-eyed snake (Micropechis ikaheka).
On the way we passed a group of guys struggling with a big pig on a makeshift bamboo stretcher. Somehow I don't think it was sleeping, and nor were they taking it to the vet! Sadly I did not get a photograph, which I regret but we were in a hurry to get back to Higatua and go herping at Sangara.
Further on we passed a boy walking with a live snake, something you rarely see in PNG. We hd to stop and see what it was - a juvenile Southern white-lipped python (Leiopython hoserae) so I snapped his picture, not daring to enquire as to the fate of the snake.
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