There are many subjects to learn about in the natural world and herpetology is certainly one of them. Bird watching has been my focus for these few months and snakes and frogs are an entirely new group of species. I've been intrigued with snakes since I was young and always took a liking to their iridescent scales and geometric patterns. However, it's been only a year or so since I've seen my first snake and coincidentally, the first 3 snakes I've seen were during foreign excursions. After that, I decided to start looking for the snakes in Hong Kong.
Dione's Ratsnake in Jeju, Korea
This sighting was the highlight of my day, having explored most of the exhibits in the Jeju folk museum, I stumbled upon this rat snake slithering in and out of the doors of the model housing. Another notable sighting here was a Jeju weasel hopping out from nowhere and grabbing a snake from some dead grass. Unfortunately, the lightning-speed movements of the weasel prevented the photograph of its carnivorous feat.
Oriental Snake in Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue Centre, North Sulawesi
On the last day in Sulawesi, this snake was spotted in the early morning and our group ran out of our rooms to have a look. It was an extremely calm and photogenic snake.
Snake Sp. in Cambodia
While exploring the paddy fields in Cambodia, we found this snake stuck on a hook and discovered that the farmers have an appetite for snakes. Unfortunately, due to my unfamiliarity with snake species in other regions, I cannot identify the species from the photo.
Soon after my return from Sulawesi, I initiated my first herping adventures. With the guidance of experienced personnel, we visited various hotspots and kept an eye out for our target species.
Greater Green Snake
The Greater Green Snake (翠青蛇) is one of the more common species of snakes in Hong Kong. However, its appearance which highly resembles the White-lipped Pit Viper (青竹蛇), causes a large number of Greater Green Snakes killed by humans for their fear of venomous snakes. We also came across a White-lipped Pit Viper, however, due to my lacking photography skills, I struggled to get a decent photo.
Without a doubt, the climax of my current findings is the magnificent Banded Krait (金環蛇). Indicated by its vivid yellow stripes, this is a highly venomous snake (bites may be fatal within 15 hours). Considered as a relatively rare species of snake in Hong Kong, we used a couple hours taking photos and observing its movement, and surely, we were able to see some unique features of the Bungarus genus, the snake hid its head under its body most of the time, showing its shyness.
Banded Krait
There's truly an extraordinarily biodiverse world of reptiles and amphibians to explore, and this is only the first step to my imminent adventures.
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