A pointed-scaled pit viper was found dead with its fangs stuck inside its body one day after it was captured and caged by firefighters from Nantou County’s Guosing Township (國姓), raising questions whether it committed suicide because of its captive environment.
Officials from the Guosing fire department said they received a call earlier this month from a local resident saying a snake had invaded his home.
After discovering that the target was a 1m-long pointed-scaled pit viper, whose venom contains hemotoxin — a type of toxin that can cause tissue damage and internal bleeding — firefighters donned protective suits before using snake tongs to capture it and put it in an iron cage.
Photo: Tung Chen-kuo, Taipei Times
Firefighters Liu Hsin-hua (劉新華) and Hung Wei-lan (洪偉嵐) were preparing to transfer the serpent to the county government’s Agriculture Department the following day when they discovered that it had died in what they said appeared to be a suicide, with its mouth wide open and its fangs inside its body.
The Council of Agriculture’s Endemic Species Research Institute said that while the center had never encountered cases of snakes committing suicide by biting themselves and could not confirm whether a pointed-scaled pit viper’s venom might be lethal to itself, it did not rule out such a possibility.
“Research has shown that cobras and banded kraits are immune to their own venom, but foreign researchers have reported cases of cottonmouth water moccasins and rattlesnakes being killed by their own toxins,” the institute said.
The institute added that another snake species, the Vipera aspis, is also vulnerable to its own venom. Since the pointed-scaled pit viper belongs to the same family — the Viperidae — there is a possibility that it could also be killed by its own venom.
However, the institute’s zoology division chief, Cheng Hsi-chi (鄭錫奇), cast doubt on the suicide speculations.
Chen said there was no such thing as “deliberate suicide” in the animal world.
“Most of the time, it is humans that subjectively label some animal behaviors as suicides, such as when a large pod of whales die after beaching themselves,” Cheng said.
He added that most incomprehensible, extreme and collective behaviors of animals could be attributed to overcrowding, inter-species competition or drastic changes in their habitats.
US President Donald Trump said "it’s up to" Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) what China does on Taiwan, but that he would be "very unhappy" with a change in the "status quo," the New York Times said in an interview published yesterday. Xi "considers it to be a part of China, and that’s up to him what he’s going to be doing," Trump told the newspaper on Wednesday. "But I’ve expressed to him that I would be very unhappy if he did that, and I don’t think he’ll do that," he added. "I hope he doesn’t do that." Trump made the comments in
NOT AN OPENING: Trump’s violation of international law does not affect China’s consideration in attacking Taiwan; Beijing lacks capability, not precedent, an official said Taiwanese officials see the US’ capture of the president of Venezuela as a powerful deterrent to Beijing’s aggression and a timely reminder of the US’ ability to defeat militaries equipped with Chinese-made weapons. The strikes that toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signaled to authoritarian leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), US President Donald Trump’s willingness to use military might for international affairs core to US interests, one senior official in Taipei’s security circle said. That reassured Taiwan, the person said. Taipei has also dismissed the idea that Trump’s apparent violation of international law could embolden Beijing, said the official, who was not
A cold surge advisory was today issued for 18 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures of below 10°C forecast during the day and into tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. New Taipei City, Taipei, Taoyuan and Hsinchu, Miaoli and Yilan counties are expected to experience sustained temperatures of 10°C or lower, the CWA said. Temperatures are likely to temporarily drop below 10°C in most other areas, except Taitung, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, CWA data showed. The cold weather is being caused by a strong continental cold air mass, combined with radiative cooling, a process in which heat escapes from
Snow this morning fell on Alishan for the first time in seven years, as a strong continental cold air mass sent temperatures plunging across Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The Alishan weather station, located at an elevation of about 2,200m in central Taiwan, recorded snowfall from 8:55am to 9:15am, when the temperature dropped to about 1°C, the CWA said. With increased moisture and low temperatures in the high-altitude Alishan area, the conditions were favorable for snow, CWA forecaster Tsai Yi-chi (蔡伊其) said. The last time snow fell at the Alishan weather station was on Jan. 10, 2018, while graupel fell there
RSS