Western Ghats 2013

For your reports/images, made outside Europe and the "Mediterranean" countries. Not to be too narrow minded and limited to our European/Mediterranean herps.

Re: Western Ghats 2013

Postby Ruggero M. » Sat May 17, 2014 2:39 pm

I've found on the web the story of my first visit to Agumbe, written by my friend Nazzareno. Unfortunately for me (even if it's not told in the story) I broke my right distal biceps tendon in the forest during this trip, and so I could not be very fit: no camera with me + bad right arm. But my friend Nazzareno took anyway wonderful pictures of the reptiles we have seen.

Here is the link of the tale: http://ophiophagus.nl/?p=1053

A mistery for me will remain the event of the cobra "in the pipe" we have seen during one night of our stay... Did the local people catch it with the pipe, or went the snake intentionally there inside, looking for shelter?
Ruggero M.
 
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Re: Western Ghats 2013

Postby Ruggero M. » Mon Dec 08, 2014 11:17 am

Looking at my pictures from the Agumbe area, I sadly noticed that I have almost only "bad" pictures of king cobras.
But just these bad pictures suggested to me the idea to create a little game: "find the snake"! :D
In some pictures I had difficulties myself in finding the snake, and so I won't use those terrible pictures.
But some pictures, all taken "in situ", are a very good example to show how easily such a big snake species can literally "disappear" and pass totally unobserved even by most herpers.

At first I will post 4 tricky pictures, and then, in another post, the solutions.
All the pictures are taken in Agumbe or not far from the Agumbe area in Western Ghats, and so I decided not to open another 3d for my test.

india.jpg
Big male: you can clearly see its head shape and colours

india2.jpg
Female while eating a rat snake: head and neck are perfectly visible

india3.jpg
Female rolled up and resting: body markings and even single scales are easily recognizable

india4.jpg
A male looking at you (original picture: not trickly cut!)
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Re: Western Ghats 2013

Postby Ruggero M. » Mon Dec 08, 2014 11:18 am

Solutions

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Ruggero M.
 
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country: Italy

Re: Western Ghats 2013

Postby Ruggero M. » Mon Dec 08, 2014 11:31 am

Markus Oulehla wrote:... and then there was this situation, when you see a snake in the dark and just know, either it's a wolf snake or a krait...
Image

seems as if we have been lucky :D
a juvenile common krait, Bungarus caeruleus one of my favourite finds...
Image

Image



It's sometimes not easy (at least for me) to distinguish at once a small Bungarus from a harmless wolf snake.
In case of doubt, I use to look at the dorsal scales in the median part of the back: in Bungarus they are typically very large and "trapezoidal"! :geek:
I think one cannot do wrong with this system... :oops:
Ruggero M.
 
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country: Italy

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