Bungarus andamanensis feeding on frogs

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: Bungarus andamanensis feeding on frogs

Postby Ruggero M. » Wed Jun 04, 2014 6:42 pm

Can you see the snake?

Dendrelaphis cyanochloris.jpg
Dendrelaphis cyanochloris in situ

detail.jpg
Same picture
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Re: Bungarus andamanensis feeding on frogs

Postby Ruggero M. » Wed Jun 04, 2014 6:51 pm

These arboreal snakes are rarely seen on the ground

ground.jpg

ground2.jpg

in situ.jpg


They are very fast moving and really wonderful, to say the least

head.jpg

tongue.jpg
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Re: Bungarus andamanensis feeding on frogs

Postby Ruggero M. » Wed Jun 04, 2014 7:10 pm

A Lycodon hidden inside a bark

Lycodon.jpg
Lycodon sp.
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Re: Bungarus andamanensis feeding on frogs

Postby Paul Lambourne » Wed Jun 04, 2014 7:35 pm

Ruggero

Loved this post.. Trimeresurus are among my favourite snakes, and its fantastic to see a less common variety such as andersoni. I would love to see some more habitat shots if you have any. Nice to see some boiga as well.

Thanks for posting.

Paul
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Re: Bungarus andamanensis feeding on frogs

Postby Ruggero M. » Wed Jun 04, 2014 8:36 pm

Paul Lambourne wrote:Ruggero

Loved this post.. Trimeresrurus are among my favourite snakes, and its fantastic to see a less common variety such as andersoni. I would love to see some more habitat shots if you have any. Nice to see some boiga as well.

Thanks for posting.

Paul


Thanks Paul: if you like Trimeresurus, I have many pictures of Cryptelytrops purpureomaculatus from Langkawi.

I will try now to put some more habitat pictures.

child taking picture of trimeresurus in the lodge garden.jpg
Garden of the lodge: a child is taking pictures of a Trimerusurus

this one.jpg
This one

all.jpg
All lodge people became "Trimeresurus fans"

restaurant lodge view.jpg
The restaurant of the lodge

water pond near the lodge.jpg
The water pond near the lodge

water pond2.jpg
Another view

habitat of trimeresurus behind the pond.jpg
Where the Trimeresurus with the small gecko lived (directly behind the water pond)

this one2.jpg
This one

forest.jpg
Forest habitat

shore.jpg
The shore

shore2.jpg
Again

melanzostus.jpg
The common "melanzostus", as you already know very well

hospital.jpg
And the "hospital"...
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Re: Bungarus andamanensis feeding on frogs

Postby Paul Lambourne » Thu Jun 05, 2014 7:34 pm

Ruggero

Thanks for the habitat shots..great to see...

I would love to see any pit viper pictures/habitat shots you have.

Cheers

Paul
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Re: Bungarus andamanensis feeding on frogs

Postby Guillaume Gomard » Fri Jun 06, 2014 1:00 pm

Another location added to my "to do list", thank you ;) Could you tell us more about King Cobra (estimate of the population, your own experience, etc.)?

Thanks for your post and answers.
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Re: Bungarus andamanensis feeding on frogs

Postby Ruggero M. » Fri Jun 06, 2014 1:49 pm

Guillaume Gomard wrote:Another location added to my "to do list", thank you ;) Could you tell us more about King Cobra (estimate of the population, your own experience, etc.)?

Thanks for your post and answers.


I was there in the rainy season, and for king cobras it was not the best period: I would recommend mating season, which I suppose similar to India (Agumbe) in march.

I think the population of king cobras in Havelock is really consistent, and I have a picture (not mine) of a king cobra found on a small boat at shore among empty plastic bottles.
Besides this, I've also seen a dead king cobra photographed in Havelock with a cell phone by local people.

On you tube you can find this film (lucky laymen!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoMAJ0wvD6o

Tales about king cobras are very common in Havelock: king cobras were spotted in or near the pond I've photographed, and one big specimen was seen for rather a long period (many days) among the bushes which separate the lodge from the beach.

In search of snakes (and of king cobras in particular) we went with the boat in a region of the island which young fishermen described us as a very good place for snakes. There I saw a huge Ptyas rolled under a "palmetto" bush: having a little fear of confusion with a king, I didn't grab it with my hands, but touched it with a stock. The big snake disappeared in a matter of a fraction of second at the opposite side of the bush.

In the mangrove habitat you can see in my picture it was very difficult to walk over the roots. The young boys indicated us suddenly "a snake" under the roots.
At first I didn't see anything and I thought to see soon a small water snake like Cerberus or something like this because of the strange and wet habitat.
But then I saw, in the distance, a big slender blackish snake with reddish neck swimming under the roots. It was probably about 2 meters long, but it's very difficult to say something more precise about dimensions: it was nothing more than a short glimpse of a big swimming snake, impossible to photograph and even more impossible to catch.
I'm pretty sure it was a king cobra, and my two herp friends, wo were with me, were sure of the identification too. What else could it be? A blackish 2 meters long snake, with reddish neck, swimming with a big elevated head in a dense mangrove swamp... :P

Once back to the lodge, I told this story, and a worker of the lodge confirmed to me that also the specimen spotted near the lodge pond had a reddish neck, and that this was a common characteristic of many king cobras in Havelock. I don't know if it's true: the cobra photographed on the small boat has a normal, bright and distinctly banded coloration. But coloration in king cobras changes a lot with the seasons: during the wet season, for instance (I speak of my Agumbe experience with the team of Rom Whitaker), both males and females tend to be almost totally black. And I was in Havelock during the wet season.

I hope this will help: and please, post a 3D here if you will travel to the Andamans in the future! :D
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Re: Bungarus andamanensis feeding on frogs

Postby Bert Vandebosch » Fri Jun 06, 2014 3:46 pm

Thanks for posting this Ruggero!

Ever since I have the book "Snakes of India" from Withaker and Captain, I've been dreaming of the Andamans.
You just made it worse. Never realised that snakes like Dendrelaphis are that common there. What a beauties.

Isn't tourism restricted on those islands? So isn't it difficult and very expensive to get there?

Does Naja sagittifera also occur on Havelock?

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Re: Bungarus andamanensis feeding on frogs

Postby Ruggero M. » Fri Jun 06, 2014 4:37 pm

Bert Vandebosch wrote:Thanks for posting this Ruggero!

Ever since I have the book "Snakes of India" from Withaker and Captain, I've been dreaming of the Andamans.
You just made it worse. Never realised that snakes like Dendrelaphis are that common there. What a beauties.

Isn't tourism restricted on those islands? So isn't it difficult and very expensive to get there?

Does Naja sagittifera also occur on Havelock?

Bert


I don't know if Naja sagittifera does occur on Havelock: Havelock is apparently rather "small", but actually it's a "full" and intact island. So: why not also sagittifera? I have the book "Snakes of India" and I've looked inside its pages just now: for Bungarus andamanensis is reported a maximal lenght of 100 cm, but I think our biggest specimen could be more than that.

Tourism is restricted, and I think the only possible island for tourists is just Havelock. I remember (if I remember right) we went by boat to another small island: after a while, some policemen (or militars) went towards us to push us away from the beach.

Reaching Havelock is not easy. You must fly to India (maybe Chennai?) and then to Port Blair.
In Port Blair you have to wait a lot and to listen to the guide, who teaches you about Andamans and who tells you that in Havelock don't live venomous snakes, but only green harmless snakes. Really! :lol:
Then you must take a ship, and this is the most interesting part of the travel: never happened to me, neither before nor after that, the small ship was full of crawling beetles!

You finally arrive in Havelock and you take a car to reach your lodge.

If you are interested, I will tell you the name of the lodge in PM and will show you (I hope I will remember) the beach were snakes are reputedly so common.

I don't think it's an expensive holiday, but more simply a not easy to reach destination.

Dendrelaphis are really very common: you cannot miss them! But even commoner are the "melanzostus"! :D
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