Posted by:
rearfang
at Sun Feb 12 10:49:09 2006 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by rearfang ]
None taken. I do however doubt that your locals and Abo's are in relation to their local species anymore remarkably informed than our locals (Seminoles etc...)are about our snakes. One thing you learn is a lot of 'common' knowlege is not always accurate.
To my experience (which constitutes over 40 years of not just reptile keeping but also rescue and educational work with a variety of animals) even some folk you might think of as experts are sadly under informed.
Least I sound like I am beating my own drum...very few people I have met in this business keep any kind of library beyond basic and don't research beyond the species they actually keep.
Like I said, I too was bitten by a 'Keelback, species without bad results. However, if any of my siblings had been bitten the results would have been serious.
And that is my point. Since you cannot gage the effect on an individual and the species is known to be highly venomous it should be treated with the respect it deserves.
This reminds me of a video an Aussie friend of mine once shot and showed our society. It showed a bunch of Thai locals collecting Pope's and white lipped tree vipers. The men stood around a large round container and emptied their collecting bags by reaching in and pulling handfuls of the vipers out. Some were biting the men, but the general consensus of what they told my friend, was that the bites were considered no big deal.
Personally, I have no desire to test that 'expert local opinion' on my tree vipers.
Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."
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RE: Bryan Fry...care to wade in? - rearfang, Sun Feb 12 10:49:09 2006