Just before I packed evie off on the van back to the village, we spotted, thanks to a minor commotion at Punai Hut, a 1.5 foot-long keel-bellied whip snake (Dryophiops rubescens) with a Draco volans in its jaws. The serpent was probably lurking on the rubber tree when one of the many flying dragons that use the clearing as a minor lek landed close to it. We found the snake close to the ground though, and it drew the attention of many of the visitors who were on their way to and from Chek Jawa.
Said to be an uncommon species compared to its relative the Oriental whip snake (which I have yet to see), D. rubescens reaches about a metre in length and hunts small vertebrates such as frogs and lizards in trees. It's mildly venomous but as was the case last week, my duck feared more for the colubrid than the curious crowd surrounding it. Most were delighted by this opportunity to see life in cold blooded action, although my duck had to warn a couple of photo-opportunists who thought it fit to shove their lens within 10 cm of the feeding animal. Another bloke, trying to impress his mate, tried to prod the snake with his finger but my duck scared him off with a fearsome growl. Meanwhile, a couple of freewheelers attempted to play volleyball on the trail.
I waited til the gang arrived for the day's clean-up. They took their share of pictures before we decided to relocate the snake, which seemed to be taking its time to ascend to the canopy with a lizzie in its belly. We put on gloves and pondered ways and means to move a reluctant reptile. A hands-off approach seemed more prudent and I found a handy stick to lift the snake off the trunk and hastily waddled off the trail into the shrubbery to unfurl the animal onto a tall branch. A snake in hand is probably worth two ducks in the bush...
even more wowsers!
Posted by: husky | 07 January 2008 at 11:51 PM