Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ran across interesting article on http://www.abc.net.au/science/scribblygum/December2000/default.htm
I though folks might find interesting. It discusses the relationship between Dusky rats and water pythons on coastal river floodplains in northern Australia.

One pretty astonishing quote:

"The water pythons are even more amazingly successful. It was once thought that the Serengeti plains in Africa had the densest predator rating. Predators there, including lions, tigers and cheetahs, weigh in at 30 kilos per square kilometre. But at a density of around 300 kilos per square kilometre, the pythons surpass that figure by a factor of ten. At Fogg Dam on the Adelaide River, where conditions are ideal for breeding, the python density has been as high as 850 kilos per square kilometre."

That's a bunch of snakes. If my math is right, about 7.5 lbs of python per acre.

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Which would be about one snake per acre?
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1.1 Blackheaded pythons
1.1 Woma (Juvie female)
2.1 Aussie Olives
1.1 Timors
1.0 Angolan Juvie
1.1 Savu
1.1 Juvie Bloods
1.1 Juvie Balls
1.1 IJ Carpets
1.1 Coastal Carpets
1.2 Macklotts
1.1 Papuan Olives
1.0 Jungle Carpet
2.2 Scrubs (on breeding loan)
0.1 Jungle/Diamond cross
0.1 child, CB
0.1 wife, WC

>>Which would be about one snake per acre?
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I don't really know the average weight of an adult wild water python. Maybe about 7.5 lbs, which would be one snake per acre. However, since the biomass would include hatchlings and juveniles which probably outnumber the adults, I would guess it works to something more than one snake per acre. Maybe an average of something in the 2 - 3 snakes per acre range.

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