Trivia question for May-26-2011

Carter found a few cool facts about these guys, lets see how you do with his trivia:  These guys hunt at night by stalking its victims.  They then wrap themselves around its prey and squeeze the life out of it.

The color pattern is whitish or yellowish with the blotched patterns varying from shades of tan to dark brown. This varies with terrain and habitat. Specimens from the hill forests of Western Ghats and Assam are darker, while those from the Deccan Plateau and East Coast are usually lighter. Lethargic and slow moving even in its native habitat, they exhibit little timidity and rarely try to escape even when attacked. Locomotion is usually rectilinear, with the body moving in a straight line. They are very good swimmers and are quite at home in water. They can be wholly submerged in water for many minutes if necessary, but usually prefer to remain near the bank.

So here are Carter’s questions:  Tell us what type of snake this is and how long their average size is.  Also, tell us what the longest recorded length was.  Finally, in their home range, these guys are hunted for their skins.  Tell us what the customary method is for skinning these poor snakes.

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

Congratulations to Steve from Washington State for being the first with the correct answer.  The snake we featured is the Indian Python.  Python molurus is a large nonvenomous python species found in many tropic and subtropic areas of Southern and Southeast Asia. It is known by the common names Indian python, Black-tailed python, and Indian Rock python.

In Pakistan, Indian Pythons commonly reach a length of 7.9–9.8 ft. In India, the nominate subspecies grows to 9.8 ft on average. This value is supported by a 1990 study in Keoladeo National Park, where the biggest 25% of the python population was 8.9–11 ft long. Only two specimen even measured nearly 12 ft. Because of confusion with the Burmese Python, exaggerations and stretched skins in the past, the maximum length of this subspecies is hard to tell. The longest scientifically recorded specimen hailed from Pakistan and was 15 ft in length and weighing 115 lb.

These snakes have often been killed for their fine skin. The snake hunters typically skin the snake alive so to not mark the skin which would reduce its commercial value. These snakes are therefore listed as endangered. They are now partly protected by the Tamil Nadu Government. In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the meat is eaten by locals as the fat is purported to have medicinal value.  Here is more on these monster snakes: Indian Python

Thanks for playing along 😉