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The slithery unwelcome stranger and a pipe snake that escaped death
The Pipe Snake rescued from Deniyaya . Pic by Minuwan Shri Premasinghe
Holidaymakers in Nuwara Eliya this season were in for a rude shock when a strange slithery visitor was spotted at the iconic Lake Gregory e. Many who flocked there suggested it could be a Cobra and a confirmation later by snake experts that it was infact a juvenile cobra caused shivers that had nothing to do with the weather, to many.
“But if you leave a Cobra alone you don’t need to worry,” said one expert. Although the Cobra (Naja naja) is a lethally venomous snake, it attacks only as a last resort when being cornered or accidentally stepped on. The Cobra when threatened will first display its hood and make a hissing sound in an attempt to scare away intruders. The one found in Nuwara Eliya was a juvenile cobra according to experts.
However, it is not common to find a Cobra in Nuwara Eliya and its environs as many snake species cannot withstand cold weather. “I have never encountered a Cobra in Nuwara Eliya,” said Herpetologist Dr.Anslem de Silva who has conducted many reptile surveys islandwide. Only rough-sided snakes belonging to the genus Aspidura and rat snakes are usually found in cold environments such as Nuwara Eliya.
Our Nuwara Eliya correspondent, Shelton Hettiarachchi said residents believe the Cobra may have ended up there in a goods vehicle from some other part in the country.
Meanwhile, the sighting of a pipe snake has also been reported. Minuwan Shri Premasinghe had sighted this unusual reptile on his way to the Sinharaja rainforest. The Pipe snake in Sinhala is known as the ‘Depath Naya’ with ‘Naya’ meaning ‘Cobra’ and ‘depath’ meaning ‘heads on both ends’ of the body. The Sinhala name was given by locals on observing the Pipe snake’s behaviour when it was agitated– it flattens the lower part of its body and points the tail forward. In this position, the ventral pattern appears like two large eyes with the cloacae appearing like an open mouth.
While making its tail erect the Pipe Snake also tugs its head under the body when facing a predator. This is a defence mechanism where the snake warns potential predators not to come closer. If the predator undeterred by the warning decides to attack, it first targets the ‘fake head’ which is in fact the ‘erect tail’. This gives the pipe snake a vital fraction of time to escape. Even if the tail is injured, it is not as severe than an injury to the head, which is vital for the snake’s survival.
The Pipe Snake is a nocturnal creature and Mr. Premasinghe had seen the snake at around 10 p.m. at Deniyaya. The pipe snake was nearly killed by mortified villagers who tried to attack it with wooden poles and iron rods.
The cobra spotted in Nuwara Eliya. Pic by Shelton Hettiarachchie
“The Pipe snake is a harmless non-venomous reptile and this one was nearly killed by terrified villagers. Only a handful of Sri Lankan snakes are lethally venomous, so innocent snakes too get killed as people do not knowto identify snakes,” said Mr.Premasinghe who pointed out the importance of educating villagers, particularly those living close to biodiversity rich areas such as the Sinharaha forest. Mr. Premasinghe released the Pipe Snake to the rainforest the next day.
The Pipe Snake scientifically categorised as Cylindrophis maculatus is in fact the first reptile described from Sri Lanka in 1754. It is also special as the snake was introduced to the scientific world by Carl Linnaeus who is known as the “Father of Taxonomy”– for formalising the modern system of naming organisms called binomial nomenclature in 1754.
Dr.De Silva states that the average length of a Pipe Snake is 500 mm. The longest Ceylon pipe snake spotted so far has been a 715 mm long female recorded from Deraniyagala in 1955, according to a book written by Dr.De Silva.