When: May 2016 Weather : Cool 20C
Nikon P900, Leica Q
So Stephen’s son Adam runs up to the car as I alight and asks…’You like snakes right?…Well we have a few snakes that are being held for the researchers from the KL university…!’ What a great start to our weekend in Stephen’s Place!
Stephen’s Place, formerly known as Buona Vista in the early morning mist
Stephen’s Place from the Telecom Loop backroad
The first snake released into the box….
A magnificent 2 metre long red headed Krait…uncommonly seen; one of the most venomous snakes around….usually much smaller than this..
beautiful red head
milking the venom….
venom collected..the venom is neurotoxic and apparently one of the first signs of severe envenomation is ptosis (droopy eyelids) and diplopia (double vision)!
the red headed krait..Bungarus flaviceps
the next beauty was this Cameron Highlands Pit Viper…another venomous species….having encountered the Bornean pit viper in Bako National Park recently, this was fascinating….note the blue stripe on the side and lack of other coloration behind the eye
underside view of pattern
profile
Fangs!
pre milking
They were cared for and nurtured by the experts from the university who were researching them and were to be released back in their natural habitat afterwards…
The Natural Traveller 