The top five snakes spotted near residences in Taipei are the pointed-scaled pit viper, the Lycodon rufozonatum, the square-headed cat snake, the oriental ratsnake and the stink snake, Taipei Zoo said on Friday, adding that the reptiles usually approach residences to hunt for rodents.
Four of the snakes are known to consume rodents, the zoo said, adding that only the pointed-scaled pit viper is venomous.
The zoo urged people to avoid places that snakes frequent when the weather is warm, as winter in Taiwan is not cold enough to send snakes into hibernation.
Photo courtesy of Taipei Zoo
Snakes have slow metabolisms and do not need to feed frequently, but people should still avoid places where they are likely to search for prey, such as where frogs live, it said.
People should also keep their homes and surroundings clean to avoid attracting rodents, which would decrease the likelihood of snakes entering their residences, the zoo said.
If they encounter a snake, people should stay calm and call their local animal protection office to seek help, it added.
Photo courtesy of Taipei Zoo
Hikers should use a stick to stir the bushes or long grass before walking in to scare off snakes, the zoo said.
Snakes in Taiwan are relatively passive and would not attack humans on sight, it said.
Maintaining a safe distance and refraining from disturbing or trying to capture a snake is the best way to avoid a snakebite, it said.
In related news, two cotton-top tamarins that were born at the zoo have turned one month old, the zoo said.
The primates were born shortly before the Lunar New Year’s Eve in the zoo’s Tropical Rainforest House (Pangolin Dome), it said.
Prior to the birth, the parents were the only two cotton-top tamarins at the zoo, it added.
The animals are now enjoying family time, with the parents teaching the twins crucial survival skills in the rainforest habitat, including climbing, jumping and moving between branches, said a zookeeper who declined to be named.
As the enclosure replicates the primates’ natural habitat, crawling has not been an effortless task for the newborns, with the twins spending several days practicing their crawl, the zookeeper said.
A fully grown cotton-top tamarin typically weights between 250g and 350g, and measures 20cm to 25cm in length, the zookeeper said.
The zoo urged visitors to the habitat to keep their voices low when speaking and stay at a safe distance not to disturb the twins.
Cotton-top tamarins are diurnal and omnivorous, and are characterized by thick white crest on top of their head, according to the zoo’s Web site.
Left-Handed Girl (左撇子女孩), a film by Taiwanese director Tsou Shih-ching (鄒時擎) and cowritten by Oscar-winning director Sean Baker, won the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution at the Cannes Critics’ Week on Wednesday. The award, which includes a 20,000 euro (US$22,656) prize, is intended to support the French release of a first or second feature film by a new director. According to Critics’ Week, the prize would go to the film’s French distributor, Le Pacte. "A melodrama full of twists and turns, Left-Handed Girl retraces the daily life of a single mother and her two daughters in Taipei, combining the irresistible charm of
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
88.2 PERCENT INCREASE: The variants driving the current outbreak are not causing more severe symptoms, but are ‘more contagious’ than previous variants, an expert said Number of COVID-19 cases in the nation is surging, with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) describing the ongoing wave of infections as “rapid and intense,” and projecting that the outbreak would continue through the end of July. A total of 19,097 outpatient and emergency visits related to COVID-19 were reported from May 11 to Saturday last week, an 88.2 percent increase from the previous week’s 10,149 visits, CDC data showed. The nearly 90 percent surge in case numbers also marks the sixth consecutive weekly increase, although the total remains below the 23,778 recorded during the same period last year,
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is pushing for residents of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties to acquire Chinese ID cards in a bid to “blur national identities,” a source said. The efforts are part of China’s promotion of a “Kinmen-Xiamen twin-city living sphere, including a cross-strait integration pilot zone in China’s Fujian Province,” the source said. “The CCP is already treating residents of these outlying islands as Chinese citizens. It has also intensified its ‘united front’ efforts and infiltration of those islands,” the source said. “There is increasing evidence of espionage in Kinmen, particularly of Taiwanese military personnel being recruited by the
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