300 snakes snared yearly, most by police

The reptiles end up with the zoo, which may keep them, find new homes for them or even put them down

By Selina Lum

SECURITY officer Gary Haris was patrolling a condominium on Boon Teck Road when he saw a jogger staring into a drain.

When Mr Haris, 26, took a closer look, he saw a 3.5-m-long python inside. He called the police immediately.

'The snake was just lying there,' he said. 'It must have been very full because its stomach was as thick as a tree trunk.'

Police officers caught the snake and handed it to the Singapore Zoological Gardens on Wednesday.

About 300 snakes are caught and given to it each year. These are snared mainly by the police responding to calls from members of the public.

The Agri-food and Veterinary Authority also hands over snakes it confiscates from those caught smuggling the reptiles.

Mr Robin Goh, assistant manager of corporate communications at the zoo, said that most of the snakes it receives are reticulated pythons, which are indigenous to South-east Asia.

These non-venomous snakes, known to be the longest in the world, can grow up to 10 m in length.

The zoo also receives the occasional cobra and mangrove snake.

Snakes breed easily here because they have no natural predators, such as eagles or mongooses, to keep their numbers in check.

After the reptiles are handed over to the zoo, they are taken to a quarantine area for a thorough check-up, said Mr Goh.

They are then kept for a few days while the zoo goes through its network of local and overseas contacts to find new homes for them.

'Our greatest hope is for other zoos and wildlife institutions to take them in because then they will be well cared for,' he said.

The zoo may also keep the snakes for display, or use them as teaching tools in educational programmes for schoolchildren.

Snakes that are in good health are released into forested areas with help from the National Parks Board, as the zoo cannot keep too many snakes. The not-so-healthy ones are put down.

'It's not that we want to euthanise them, but it's something we have to do, considering the number brought in,' Mr Goh explained. 'We would rather put them down than sell them because this encourages trade in wild animals, which is not condoned by the zoo.'

Snakes help control the population of rats, their natural prey, Mr Goh said. That is why snakes are usually found in drains.

'If you see a python in the drain, just leave it alone and it will slither off after a while,' said Mr Goh.