THE LONDON ZOO

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 53, Issue 3807, 11 September 1936, Page 2

THE LONDON ZOO

SERPEN!' THAT CAN MIMIC. The most interesting of recent numerous arrivals at the Regent's Park menagerie (writes a correspondent ot the London Observer) is a specimen of the remarkable egg-eat-ing snake of South Africa. Though the head of this reptile is scarcely larger than a man’s little finger, the highly extensile and almost toothless mouth can engulf a hen’s egg. About one-third down the snake’s Interior, the egg, still whole, comes into contact with a number of sharp enamel coated spines on the inner surfair of the vertebrae. These break the egg, and the snake, after tilting the Contents into its interior, ejects the crushed shell. This snake may indeed be said to carry teeth on its vertebral column.

Experiments suggest that the egg eating snake must have an unusually keen sense of smell, for nothing will induce it to eat an egg other than “new laid.” A specimen some years ago was, however, deluded Into sampling a china nest eggt—o its very natural disgust. Another extraordinary feature of this serpent is Its faithful mimicry of a certain viper frequenting the same district.

The egg eating snake is not only marked like the viper, but imitates it in Its habit of grating its scales together, producing a rustling sound. It further impersonates its threatening matter of attack. Though, as previously mentioned, this reptile is virtually toothless, it will on alarm throw itself into the approved “viper” pose of attack, and with its harmless jaws pretend to strike at the aggressor.

New to the collection are two young Syrian bears, kept in captivity for some months by Major C. F. Wilson, their donor. They arrived in this country from Irak by aeroplane.

A number of large birds, including seven flamingoes, two demoiselle cranes, and two black necked crowned cranes, which formerly ornamented the grounds of Buckhurst Park, Ascot, have been presented by Lady Deterding.

A collection of various species of rare rats from West Africa, including two giant rats the size of rabbits, have been presented by Sir John Ellerman.