DAILY NATION (Bridgetown, Barbados) 10 April 06 Tracks show another snake loose (Bryan Walker)

The Mysterious Tracks found at the back of a St Peter's woman home last week are not those of the 18-foot Burmese python on the loose since last year.

However, said snake expert Damon Corrie, they were those of another snake, most likely an eight- to ten-foot boa constrictor.

After inspecting the site and its environs late last week, Corrie told the DAILY NATION the snake most likely was in search of water, and having satisfied its thirst, returned to a nearby gully which was an ideal habitat.

"This is totally different from the Burmese python," he said as he measured the tracks. "I can't determine the exact type, but it looks like a boa.

"He was probably looking for water now that outside is so dry. After a week or so without water he would get desperate. He had to be nearby when the woman was wetting her lawn," he said.

The young woman made the "frightening" discovery last Sunday on her back patio, with the trail stopping just a few feet from her door. Ever since, she and other residents have been on the lookout for its return, searching cellars, shrubs and anywhere that would host a snake.

Unlike the python, which could grow up to 25 feet, boas would stop at around 13 feet. The largest animals they would squeeze to death and then swallow would be small cats or dogs, said Corrie.

The herpetoculturalist said that during the day they, like the other snakes, would slide into cool, damp areas, and only emerge between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m.

He said that in his experience in Barbados, the calls or complaints he had received related to two smuggled species – boas and pythons.

"The babies of these two species have been smuggled in more than any other. We have received the most reports about these."

Dr Stephen St John, of Government's Veterinary Services Department, said while they were concerned about the snakes, "there is nothing we can legally do. We don't have the facilities to track them down".

He added they had strict conditions set down for importing snakes, and had not issued permits "for a long time".

Last week, officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Control Centre said it was not a matter with which they dealt.

Corrie, owner of Lost World Vivarium on Upper Collymore Rock, St Michael, said that based on the calls and rumours he had heard over the years, he would estimate there could be as many as ten snakes on the loose.

In the last five or six years, none had been found alive, only their carcasses.

"About half-dozen were killed mostly in fields either by tractors or harvesters, or burnt in grassfields."

He again stressed that these snakes were not poisonous, generally would not enter homes or attack people, nor did they move quickly.

"They would move at the speed of an elderly person taking a leisurely stroll," said Corrie, who has over 20 years' experience dealing with reptiles.

He urged Barbadians to look out for certain signs, in addition to tracks or shedded skin.

"If your small pets or animals go missing, report it. This is one way to gauge if the snake or snakes are around. If the dogs are barking irregularly at night, also check it out."

Meanwhile, Corrie continues his search for that Burmese python, last spotted in Joe's River, St Joseph, last October.

Last week he told the DAILY NATION he had written the Ministry of Defence and Security since last September seeking permission to use the army's night-vision equipment, but had received no reply.

However, he said an American expert, David Liebman, a big snake hunter, had volunteered to lead the search for the python – if someone could sponsor his airfare.

Corrie warned that no one should attempt to capture it . If they spotted that or the other snake(s), they could contact him at 228-0227 or 231-2975.
Tracks show another snake loose

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