Snake Hunting with the U.S. Navy

Snake Hunting with the U.S. Navy

By Karl Betz

I have just recently returned from an extended tour of the western rim of the Pacific Ocean, Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean. Truly a herper's paradise vacation. My first stop was at Guam, where I had hoped to find the infamous Brown Tree Snake, which everyone "knows" is overrunning the island. After much "brush stomping" and overturning of rocks and boards during the daytime and stalking along the forest edge during all hours of the night, I finally found two of the dreaded serpents. In spite of the several thousand snakes per square mile that the government warns of in their brochure, I was only able to find Brown Tree Snakes at the US Naval Hospital, on display in the Preventative Medicine ward. They were definitely beautiful specimens, all yellow and brown and very alert. I chatted with the Corpsman, who allowed me to view them, about some husbandry techniques such as giving the snakes a hide box (since they are nocturnal and every captive snake needs one) and a branch or two to climb on (since they are arboreal). Then, once more out into the field, where I found several beautiful geckos, a marine toad, and some very irate water buffalo. Every night, as the sun set, the lights would come on outside the barracks where we stayed and the geckos would come out and dart along the walls in pursuit of the small insects that the lights attracted. One of my shipmates, who was kindly helping me to look for snakes, was actually treed and kept there for several hours by a huge, angry, water buffalo. The Naval Base had very conspicuous snake traps along the perimeter of the chain link fence but, although I checked them every day for a week, I never did see a "wild" Brown Tree Snake.

My next stop, of any herpetological interest, was White Beach on Okinawa, Japan. Unfortunately, it was early in February and the local snakes had all settled in for a long winter's nap. My last trip to Okinawa almost landed me in the brig for an overnight stay as a dim view is taken of actively seeking out the local Okinawan Habu. Many of my shipmates came back with wild tales of the "Habu Sake" (pronounced Hah-Boo Sah-Key), a local wine made with a snake fermented in it which is said to be very potent, but alas, no live snakes.

After Okinawa, we made our way down to the warmer climes of Singapore. Singapore is home to both, the largest non-venomous snake, the Reticulated Python, and the largest venomous snake, the King Cobra, as well as many in between. I traveled around the island and found many different species of lizards but no snakes. I came across a juvenile Malaysian Water Monitor that would allow me to approach no closer than twenty feet before diving into a concrete ditch and swimming off. With its gleaming black scales and yellow highlights, it was a spectacular specimen. I actually captured and held a colorful Sun Skink which I immediately released. Geckos were everywhere as were several species of Agamid lizards. I am not nearly as familiar with lizards as I am with snakes and I'm afraid that my field identifications may not always be accurate. It is one thing to be in the States and able to run to the nearest bookstore to grab up a Peterson's Field Guide and quite another to be in a foreign country where everyone thinks you must be related to the village idiot for even talking about reptiles. One other factor should not be discounted in my inability to find snakes in Singapore. On this particular trip, I was the only herp enthusiast and my shipmates were not at all interested in tramping through any cobra-infested woods! I would not recommend traipsing about the woods, in a foreign country, which happens to be home to Spitting Cobras, King Cobras, etc. by one's self. Take a buddy or don't go. So, mostly, I didn't go too far out into the wilds. However, if you happen to make it out to Singapore, they have a first-rate Zoological Garden, which displays many of their local herp species in some excellent exhibits. I spoke to a couple of young herp enthusiasts that I met in a downtown bookstore and learned that it is illegal to keep snakes in captivity in Singapore. One young man asked me how hard Corn Snakes were to keep because he was trying to determine whether it would be worthwhile to smuggle one in. He was currently keeping a Northern Water Snake and was looking to expand. It seems that there are laws about keeping snakes everywhere.

Although I spent a couple of months in Bahrain and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, I could find no snakes or even any local literature about snakes. I did find geckos around the light fixtures of the hotels in both countries but the local people paid them no attention and I could find no one that would discuss herps of any kind with me.

My last stop was at Garden Island, (near Perth) Australia in June. Now, Garden Island is located in the state of Western Australia where the keeping of herps was still forbidden at the time of my visit. I spoke with some local enthusiasts who were very excited about an upcoming bill in the local legislature, which would change this impasse. One thing that remained constant throughout my trip, was the local opinion of local snakes. In Guam, Okinawa, Singapore and Garden Island the local common snake is so aggressive that it will chase you with intent to injure. In Guam it was the Brown Tree Snake, Okinawa was the Habu, Singapore was Cobras, and Garden Island was the West Australian Tiger Snake. Several local people informed me that the Tiger Snake was the most aggressive snake in the world and that if I was unlucky enough to find one, it would surely chase me down and bite me to death. It has been my experience that most folk tales have some basis in truth (unless they deal with snakes!). During my last visit to Garden Island, I spotted a Tiger Snake, momentarily pinned it (so that it would notice me before it got away) and then let it go. My plan was to get my camera out of my bag and photograph it while its natural aggression had it attacking me. Unfortunately for my plan, Tiger Snakes are much like most any other snake found in the wild and it quickly and efficiently escaped the big moron in its path and slithered into the underbrush in a most unaggressive manner. This trip was even less eventful with my arrival coinciding with the beginning of Australian winter. I did find one West Australian Tiger Snake sunning itself on a warm afternoon at the entrance to a burrow in a sand dune. It was very quick at ducking back into its burrow and as I am not a proponent of habitat destruction, I came home with no pictorial proof. It just didn't make sense to dig up this beautiful animal's burrow just to take a picture and then release it hoping that it could find another place to safely survive the coming winter. I also spotted several King's Skinks that were huge when compared to American skinks but they, too, were quick to dodge down a burrow. During my last visit, I had found several Shingleback Skinks sunning in the dunes near the beach but they were not in evidence this time. Those of you who have been tromping through the woods and disturbed a resting White-tail Deer know the feeling of your heart pounding as the crashing becomes more distant through the woods. At Garden Island it was the Tamar Wallabies, which look like a cross between a kangaroo and a large rat, who crashed through the scrub forest and set my heart to thumping.

All in all, my entire trip turned up very few wild snakes in some of the "snakiest" places in the world. I did find several books, about local snakes in Singapore and Australia, which I have yet to see available in the US. I also met several people who share our enthusiasm for keeping snakes in captivity. Mostly, I got to spend quite a few days in forests, swamps and fields in some of the more exotic regions of the world. Hunting West Australian Tiger Snakes on Garden Island was very much like hunting Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes in southeastern Georgia. The smell of the salt air from the nearby ocean, the sun bearing down, the swarming gnats (Australian gnats are not nearly as hungry as Georgia gnats!), the thrill of finding a much coveted herp, and of course, coming home empty handed (most of the time) after a wonderful day spent in the great outdoors. They're out there, keep looking and good luck!

About the author:

Karl Betz has been catching and keeping snakes for 37 years. He is currently stationed in St. Mary's, Georgia.

Member Comments: Add A Comment