STOWAWAY SNAKES

Greymouth Evening Star, 29 August 1929, Page 10

STOWAWAY SNAKES

A DANGEROUS IMPORTATION. A bunch of bananas would seem to be poor cover for any animal, and yet a surprising number of different creatures find their way to Europe from the West Indies, and other parts of the tropics, hidden among the clusters of fruit in the holds of banana ships. The commonest of these stowaways ■ is the large bird-eating spider from ; South America, of which the Zoo usually has several specimens, collected , and presented by friends at Covent i Garden. •. Snakes come next on the list in order of frequency, and every year a num- , ber of both poisonous and non-poison- , ous species are imported into this i country in the same manner. On , Thursday a firm of banana merchants , in Walthamstow sent up a small viper to the Reptile House with the request ; that it should be identified and returned. One glance was sufficient for the . Curator to recognise it as a Fer-de- . Lance, one of the most deadly of all ■ the New World vipers. The messenger , was acquainted of this, and urged to leave the snake behind, where it could be properly dealt with and housed with ■ safety. This he refused to do, as he had strict instructions to take it back to his employers. It was not long, however, before he arrived back with an urgent message that the Zoo authorities should take over his dangerous charge. The Fer-de-Lance has the reputation of attacking man without provocation, and it is, therefore, one of the most dreaded snakes in the West Indies and South America. It is entirely terrestrial in habit, and its reddish-yellow markings render it almost invisible when coiled up among the dead leaves of the forest. It has a long and pointed tail which,-when aroused, it shakes in the same way as its equally deadly cousin, the rattlesnake. No actual rattle is produced, but quick vibrations cause a rustling of the leaves, and act as a warning to the passer-by. Strangely enough on the same day Mr. W. Gray found a small Boa constrictor among some bananas in the Borough Market and presented it tQ the Zoo. The Boa is non-poisonous and kills its prey by constriction. Such small specimens as are usually found in bunches of bananas are comparatively harmless; indeed they make quite nice pets. It is improbable that snakes which make the journey across the Atlantic m tins manner find any food on the voyage, but nearly all reptiles are capable of existing for many weeks without food, so that they generally arrive in good condition;