There is a happy relationship at Canaote between man and snakes. There is no doubt that the snakes are there but have no interest in humans. Most of the time they are out of sight and out of mind. Humans obey the simple rule. Don't put your hand or feet in a place where you cannot see. This golden rule will keep you out of trouble. When I am walking in thick undergrowth I bang on the ground with my stick. Just to make sure the snakes hear me. Invisibly and silently they scuttle away. They don't want to meet me anymore than I want to meet them.
Having said that, there are slip ups. During the wet season we occasionally find a snake near the house. But very rarely in the house. The snake in our picture is a Coral snake, one of the 65 varieties of Coral in Venezuela. This one gave David quite a shock. It appeared in his bedroom whilst he was sitting reading a book. The snake was soon captured and returned to the forest.
Note
Coral snakes are most notable for their red, yellow/white, and black colored banding. (Several nonvenomous species have similar coloration, however, including the Scarlet Kingsnake, the Milk Snake, and the Chionactis occipitalis annulata.) In some regions, the order of the bands distinguishes between the non-venomous mimics and the venomous coral snakes, inspiring some folk rhymes — "Red on yellow, kill a fellow; red on black, friend of Jack", "Red on Yellow Kills a Fellow, Red on Black, Venom Lack," and "Red on yellow kills a fellow; red on black, pat it on the back" or "if red touches yellow, you're a dead fellow (for Coral Snakes); if red touches black, you're okay, Jack (for similar looking Milk Snakes)". However, this only reliably applies to coral snakes native to North America: Micrurus fulvius (Eastern or common), Micrurus tener (Texas), and Micruroides euryxanthus (Arizona), found in the southern and eastern United States. Coral snakes found in other parts of the world can have distinctly different patterns, have red bands touching black bands, have only pink and blue banding, or have no banding at all.
Jueves, 22 de abril 2010
Las serpientes y los primates.
Hay una relación feliz en Cañaote entre el hombre y las serpientes. No hay duda de que las serpientes están ahí, pero no tienen ningún interés en los seres humanos. La mayoría de las veces están fuera de la vista y la mente. Los seres humanos obedecen la regla simple. No ponga su mano o pies en un lugar donde no puedes ver. Esta regla de oro le mantendrá alejado de los problemas. Cuando camino en la espesa maleza suelo golpear el suelo con mi bastón. Apenas para cerciorarme que las serpientes pueden oírme. Ellas no quieren reunirse conmigo ni yo con ellas.
Dicho esto, hay nuevos deslizamientos. Durante la estación lluviosa a menudo se encuentra una serpiente cerca de la casa. Pero muy rara vez dentro de la casa. La serpiente en la foto es una serpiente coral, una de las 65 variedades de coral en Venezuela. Éste dio a David un buen susto. Al parecer, en su dormitorio mientras él estaba sentado leyendo un libro. La serpiente fue capturada poco después y se llevo de regresó a la selva.
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