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Hunting
for snakes and their secrets
Snakehunters have been scouring swamps for
water snakes that could help researchers discover
why some species left the land for the sea
By
Lea
Wee
WHEN the sun went down and the evening calm
settled over the swamps, the 'snakehunters' would
spring into action.
In what became a frequent occurence throughout
last month, groups of volunteers would meet at
Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve and Pasir Ris Park just
after dusk.
In the moonlight, they would wade through the
muddy mangrove waters where, equipped with just
their bare hands, torchlights and plastic bags,
they would try to catch the nocturnal water snakes
belonging to a group called the Homalopsinae.
Back in the laboratory at the Raffles Museum of
Biodiversity Research, National University of
Singapore, visiting professors Harold Voris and
Daryl Karns would 'tag' the snakes and do the
necessary measurements before releasing them back
into the waters in which they were found.
Researchers inserted microchips into some of the
snakes so they could 'radio-track' their movements
in the mangroves. This is the first time this has
been done for water snake research in South-east
Asia.
The two professors from the American Field
Museum of Natural History in Chicago are here on a
two-month visit hosted by Professor Peter Ng of the
Raffles Museum.
Said Prof Voris: 'During our stay here, we hope
to find out how many species of Homalopsinae snake
there are in Singapore, and how their populations
are doing.'
Prof Ng said this information would help the
Raffles Museum and conservation agencies here to
conserve the snakes, as well as the mangrove
habitats in which they live.
More than 30 species of the Homalopsinae have
been found in various parts of South-east Asia.
Unlike water snakes found in other parts of the
world that inhabit mainly freshwater areas, many
Asian water snakes spend most of their time in salt
water.
Prof Voris hoped his research would ultimately
shed light on why some organisms 'decided' to give
up life on land and go back to the sea.
'In the long history of evolution, snakes and
other reptiles came on land more than 100 million
years ago. But about 60 million years ago, several
groups of reptiles, including some related to
dinosaurs, re-invaded the sea. We want to find out
how - and why.'
Their diet could provide a clue.
Prof Voris found that these snakes feed on fish,
crabs, and other shelled food, unlike the land
snakes that tend to favour small animals like mice,
rats and lizards.
What is less palatable is that Homalopsinae
snakes are slightly venomous, though they seldom
bite, and even if they do, they leave no more than
a stinging sensation.
This did not deter more than 30 people from
responding when the Raffles Museum sent out a call
last month for'snakehunters'.
They ranged from university students to
volunteers from the Nature Society (Singapore) and
the Singapore Zoological Gardens.
Undergraduate Marilyn Cheng, 20, was among the
first to sign up. She has since gone on about six
trips. 'It's a real thrill when you spot the
snake,' she said.
'My friends were shocked when I told them I was
catching snakes, but how often does one get a
chance to do something like that?'
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