Aka Common Tree Snake - non venomous
He was swimming in a dam I visit frequently about 5mtrs from the bank and swam under water to about 10mtrs away when he saw me - then never took his eyes off me.
Best viewed large to see finer detail...
I thought I had posted these before but apparently not - same species, two pairs mating in the same tree...!
Superb images. The subject leaves me a little queasy. Egads you have a lot of snakes. You definitely have the right lens to keep the right distance away. Not sure I'd have seen them with the naked eye.
A friend shot a hole in his boat when a snake dropped in unexpectedly. Another friend was a camera man for local tv station. He and Dad went to the river to make a little promo video. Around a curve there were balls and balls of water moccasins. The $60K+ (1970's money) video camera was left behind. Dad retrieved the camera for him. The camera man was a war photojournalist. Snakes were a different story.
Thanks for sharing and the memories,
barondla
Thank you Barondia.
They are non venomous and have a small head (could only bite a finger or toe) so not dangerous in any way. Yes we have others but they are not prevalent around here (I may have seen a young venomous one in that dam back in winter but it very quickly disappeared). The ones in the tree I noticed from a distance because the yellowish colour was out of place.
Our psychology can be interesting. Many stories of those who are happy to dodge bullets and exploding things but have a morbid fear of poisonous animals. I am the opposite - not that I don't have fear of poisonous animals. Just that I am very uncomfortable around joe public and weapons while I carry a stick and keep my eyes open when walking through the woods and grass. Sure if I encounter a venomous snake my adrenaline will be pretty high but unless I trod on it, it is not a situation where common sense won't prevail - with joe public and guns it's a different story (more so in our country because if he has a gun, chances are he's up to no good and I have no control)...
Another angle is that the amount of people who die from snake / spider bites, are taken by a crocodile or shark, all together are far far less than the road toll. Yet we still drive and think nothing of it...
And after that conversation what should I run into on the path today?
This snake has a nice clear pupil - with resultant reflection. I have never seen that on other snakes - not that I ever get that close...
For a size perspective, the head would be about 20mm (~ 3/4") across between the eyes.
Super snake photo. The eyes are amazing. Haven't studied those I've encountered to know if they are similar. I can usually keep snake fears in check, as long as ample distance and time are involved.
It is interesting to see what people are afraid of. I think fear of snakes, spiders and similar things have been with us from our beginning. They have had time to become instinctual. No thought involved. This allows us to react instantly.
Guns, bombs, cars and like things are much newer and require more thought to cause worry. After thousands of years they may reach the instinctual level. They can wound or kill us just as easily. We just haven't fully adapted to it yet. My take anyways.
Thanks for sharing,
barondla
Yeah I think you are correct there. Some of those fears are baked into our genetics - for good reason.
