This week let's head to the Southern and Southeast Asia to meet one of the largest species of snakes - Burmese Python.
Burmese Python
The Burmese python is a dark-colored non-venomous snake with many brown blotches bordered in black down the back. In the wild, Burmese pythons typically grow to 5 m (16 ft), while specimens of more than 7 m (23 ft) are uncommon. In general, individuals over 5 m (16 ft) are rare. The record for maximum length of Burmese pythons is held by a female that lived at Serpent Safari for 27 years. Shortly after death, her actual length was determined to be 5.74 m (18 ft 10 in). Widely published data of specimens reported to have been several feet longer are not verified.
Burmese pythons are mainly nocturnal rainforest dwellers. When young, they are equally at home on the ground and in trees, but as they gain girth, they tend to restrict most of their movements to the ground. They are also excellent swimmers, being able to stay submerged for up to half an hour. Burmese pythons spend the majority of their time hidden in the underbrush. In the northern parts of its range, the Indian python may brumate for some months during the cold season in a hollow tree, a hole in the riverbank, or under rocks. Brumation is biologically distinct from hibernation. While the behavior has similar benefits, allowing organisms to endure the winter without moving, it also involves the preparation of both male and female reproductive organs for the upcoming breeding season. The Florida population also goes through brumation.
Like all snakes, the Burmese python is carnivorous. Its diet consists primarily of birds and mammals, but also includes amphibians and reptiles. It is a sit-and-wait predator, meaning it spends most of its time staying relatively still, waiting for prey to approach, then striking rapidly. The snake grabs a prey animal with its sharp teeth, then wraps its body around the animal to kill it through constriction. The python then swallows its prey whole. It is often found near human habitation due to the presence of rats, mice, and other vermin as a food source. However, its equal affinity for domesticated birds and mammals means it is often treated as a pest.
In captivity, its diet consists primarily of commercially available appropriately sized rats, graduating to larger prey such as rabbits and poultry as it grows. As an invasive species in Florida, Burmese pythons primarily eat a variety of small mammals including foxes, rabbits, and raccoons. Due to their high predation levels, they have been implicated in the decline and even disappearance of many mammal species.
Distribution
The Burmese python occurs throughout Southern and Southeast Asia, including eastern India, southeastern Nepal, western Bhutan, southeastern Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, northern continental Malaysia, and southern China in Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi, and Yunnan. It also occurs in Hong Kong, and in Indonesia on Java, southern Sulawesi, Bali, and Sumbawa. It has also been reported in Kinmen. The Burmese python is often found near marshes and swamps, and is sometimes semiaquatic, but can also be found in trees.
It is an excellent swimmer and needs a permanent source of water. It lives in grasslands, marshes, swamps, rocky foothills, woodlands, river valleys, and jungles with open clearings. It is a good climber and has a prehensile tail. It can stay in water for 30 minutes but mostly stays on land.
Conservation
Wild populations are considered to be "threatened" and are listed on Appendix II of CITES. All the giant python species (including the Indian python, the African rock python, and the reticulated python) have historically been slaughtered to supply the world leather market, as well as for folk medicines and instruments, and captured for the pet trade. Some are also killed for food, particularly in Southeast Asia. The IUCN has recently listed the Burmese python as "vulnerable", reflecting its overall population decline.
In Hong Kong, it is a protected species under Wild Animals Protection Ordinance Cap 170. It is also protected in Thailand, Vietnam, China, and Indonesia. However, it is only still common in Hong Kong and Thailand, with rare to very rare statuses in the rest of its range.
To maintain Burmese python populations, the IUCN recommends increased conservation legislation and enforcement at the national and international levels to reduce harvesting across the snake's native range. The IUCN also recommends increased research into its population ecology and threats.
That's it for today. See you all next time.
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