Python ventures out on a rainy day

18 Jan, 2010

A female python emerges from the undergrowth on a rainy morning in the Okavango Delta. The snake's distended stomach is a telltale sign of a recent meal...

Another wet morning had dawned in the Okavango. Tracking animals in this sort of weather is virtually impossible because the rain obscures their spoor. Wet conditions do have one advantage, however rain generally makes snakes more active.

Our main animal encounter on this particular day was with a small female Southern African python (Python natalensis). We did not see the snake at first: it was the aggressive alarm calls and mobbing of nearby Burchell's starlings (Lamprotornis australis) that revealed its location to us.

The python was drinking at a water crossing but our arrival made it move back into the grass. We quickly followed on foot. It was obvious that she had eaten recently because a bulge was still visible in her body. Judging by the size of the bulge, the snake had probably eaten a young baboon or vervet monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) and the sizeable meal was now being digested slowly.

The python was relaxed and allowed us to move with her. After about 45 minutes she slithered into thicker grass and we could not locate her again, despite searching the nearby area carefully.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Python
• ventures
• out
• on
• rainy
• day
• snake

[FreeDayton]

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