The Wolf Snake
The common wolf snake is one of the few snakes that actually seems to profit
by a man-made environment. Houses with tiled roofs are their favorite
hideouts. They are expert climbers and slide in between wooden beams with
dexterity. Catching them on a roof is tricky business indeed since they
always have the upper hand on this one (well maybe I should say that they
have all the advantage since hands don't apply to them!).
Sometimes though they might hide in the hollow created for the wooden beam
that slides shut old Goan house doors. These hollows are more than a meter
in length inside the wall and pulling out a foot long snake from the depths
within isn't a walk in the park either!
The strangest place I've pulled out a wolf snake from is inside the chain
guard of a motorcycle. How and why the snake had got in there I can only
guess. I had to dismantle half the guard before I could access the greasy
snake. Snake rescuing calls for mechanical skills as well!
Wolf snakes are fairly aggressive reptiles and won't hesitate to bite when
first caught. When first touched the tendency of a wolf snake is to sit
coiled and unmoving. If the touch stimulus continues though the wolf snake
will uncoil and thrash and twist around madly.
Wolf snakes get their name from the long front teeth they possess.
Presumably these help the snakes get a good grip on geckoes (their favorite
prey).
The wolf snake's dark color marked with white bands across the body confuses
most people into falsely identifying it as a common krait. Adding to the
confusion is the fact that the wolf snake and the common krait are both
nocturnal snakes and therefore likely to be spotted during the same time.
An easy way to tell them apart is to notice the lines running across the
snake's body. The difference between the two is that the wolf snake has
white bands markedly more prominent in the head region which disappear
towards the tail end. The krait, on the other hand, has thin white lines
mostly located in the posterior half of the snake's body, but disappearing
toward the head.
In Goa wolf snakes come in two different color morphs. One of the morphs is
darkly colored with the characteristic bands across the body. The other is
much lighter and lacks bands altogether.
Pics; Rahul Alvares
Contact Information:
Rahul Alvares, Almeida Vaddo, Parra, Bardez, Goa - 403510
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED],
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Mob: 9881961071
Website: www.geocities.com/rahulsnakesite
