SNAKES AND SPIDERS.

Putaruru Press, Volume VII, Issue 305, 12 September 1929, Page 8

SNAKES AND SPIDERS.

VOYAGES IN BANANA SHIPS. A bunch of bananas wouil seem to to be poor cover for any animal, and yet a surprising number of different creatures find their way to Europe from the West Indies, and other parts of the tropics, hidden among the clusters of fruit in the holds of banana ships. The commonest of these stowaways is the large bird-eating spider from South America, of which the London Zoo usually has several specimens, collected and presented by friends at Covent Garden says the “ Morning Post ”). Snakes come next on the list it. order of frequency, and every year a number of both poisonous and nonpoisonous specimens are imported into this country in the same manner. Recently a firm of banana merchants in Walthamstow sent up a small viper to the Reptile House with the request that it should be identified and returned. One glance was sufficient for the curator to recognise it as a Fer-de-Lance, one of the most deadly of all the New World vipers. The messenger was acquainted of this, and urged to leave the snake behind, where it could be properly dealt with and housed in safety. This he refused to do, as he had strict instructions to take it back to his employers. It was not long, however, before he arrived back with an urgent message that the Zoo authorities should take over his dangerous charge. The Fer-de-Lance has the reputation of attacking man without provocation, and it is, therefore, one of tho most dreaded snakes in the West Indies and South America. It is entirely terrestrial in habit, and its r»ddi h-yellow markings render it almost invisib'e when coiled up amongst | the dead leaves of the forest. It has a long and pointed tail which, when aroused, it shakes in the same way as its equally deadly cousin, the rattlesnake. No rattle is produced, but qu’ck vibrations cause a rustling of the leaves, and act as a warning to the passer-by. Strangely enough bn the same day Mr. W. Gray found a boa constrictor among some bananas in the Borough Market and presented it to ■ the Zoo. The Boa is non-poisonous and kills its prey by constriction. Such small specimens as are usually found in bunches of bananas are com-, paratively harmless; indeed they make quite nice pets. It is improbable that snakes which make the journey across the Atlantic in this manner find any food on the voyage, but near’y all reptiies are capable of ex’st ng for many weeks without food, so that they generally arrive in good condition.

Very occasionally, small mammals h de away among freshly-picked fruit and are transhipped before they have time to escape. Of these, the elegant little mouse or" , svm, which ranges from Central America down to the forests of the Amazon, most frequent’y arrives in this unexpected manner. As these little creatures are almost entirely insectivorous and nocturnal, they manage to pick up a livelihood amongst the bales of fruit in the darkest of holds and arrive in the best of health.