More than 100 venomous snakes were captured in Tainan in April and last month amid the Taiwan cobra (Naja atra) mating season, the city’s Agriculture Bureau said.
Snake expert Cheng Kun-yen (鄭琨諺) was called in to capture a cobra that had entered an auto repair shop near Tainan City Councilor Kuo Hsin-liang’s (郭信良) office.
It took about an hour to find the young cobra, which was about 50cm long, in the cluttered shop, Cheng said.
Photo courtesy of Hsu Wei-chieh
A total of 1,414 snakes had been caught in Tainan as of the end of last month, including 427 Taiwan stink snakes (Elaphe carinata) and 309 cobras, the bureau’s Forestry and Conservation Division said.
A total of 133 cobras were caught in April, the most of any month this year, and 118 were caught last month, the division said.
Taiwan cobras live in low-altitude areas less than 500m above sea level, often appearing on flat farmland and in forests.
They eat rodents, frogs and birds, and can grow up to 2m long. Their mating season is in late spring to early summer.
Reptile Conservation Association of Taiwan secretary-general Hsu Wei-chieh (徐偉傑) said it is hard to determine the cobra population, because the government’s policy on the snakes is not conducive to data collection.
There is no clear difference between cobra populations in northern and southern Taiwan, but there is a difference between urban and rural areas, Hsu said.
A lot of cobras live in Taipei, especially along riverside areas, and it is normal for them to appear often during their mating season, he said.
If a person encounters a cobra, they should make as few movements as possible to avoid startling it, report the sighting and monitor its movements, Hsu said.
Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) said that with the hot weather, the peak season for snakes has begun.
If people see a snake in their home, they should call the bee and snake hotline at 0965-565-980, and the bureau would send professionals to capture it as soon as possible, Chu said.
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