Non-threatening African snakes

At Snake Park in Nairobi, Kenya, there are a number of non-threatening African snakes, such as the Mt Kenya Bush Viper, the East African Garter Snake, and the African Rock Python.

The Mt Kenya Bush Viper (Atheris desaixi) is a black and yellow snake with a thick body and broad head. It grows up to 70 centimetres (27.5 inches).

It lives in bushland and forests between 1500-1700 metres above sea level – specifically and endemically to the south-east of Mt Kenya and the Nyambeni Hills.

The tree viper is active day and night. They have live young.

Their venom is unlikely to be deadly because one reported case of a snake bite only caused pain and swelling. It eats small animals.

The East African Garter Snake (Elapsoidea loveridgei) has had no reported fatalities, although details are unknown. The snake bite cases that are known only caused local pain and swelling.

The East African Garter Snake is a glossy with a short head. It is black with 19-36 bands of white, white and pink, or yellow. It grows up to 65 centimetres (23.5 inches).

The garter snake like mid-altitude woodlands from 600-1200 metres above sea level. It is slow moving and lives in holes underground. It lays eggs. It eats other snakes, lizards, reptile eggs, frogs, and small rodents.

The African Rock Python (Python sebae natalensis) squeezes small mammals to death before swallowing. It is a huge, long, thick snake with a triangular head. It can grow from 5-9 metres (16-30 feet) long.

The rock python lives around the coast, grasslands, and woodlands. It lays eggs in bushes, under rocks, or in moist holes.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

Comments

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. ...

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass...

Sister cities discussed: Canberra and Islamabad

Two months ago, in March 2015, Australia and Pakistan agreed to explore ways to deepen ties. The relationship between Australia and Pakistan has been strong for decades, and the two countries continue to keep dialogues open. The annual bilateral discussions were held in Australia in March to continue engagements on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. The Pakistan delegation discussed points of interest will include sports, agriculture, economic growth, trade, border protection, business, and education. The possible twinning of the cities of Canberra, the capital of Australia, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were also on the agenda (i.e. called twin towns or sister cities). Sister City relationships are twinning arrangements that build friendships as well as government, business, culture, and community linkages. Canberra currently has international Sister City relationships with Beijing in China and Nara in Japan. One example of existing...

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog