Snake Caught in St Andrew
by
Clifton Henry
MONTHS OF SPECULATION across Barbados ceased yesterday with the snaring of a seven-foot snake.
It was just after 9:15 a.m. when workers from the Soil Conservation Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture captured the Peruvian Red Tail Boa Constrictor in the field which they were ploughing in Morgan Lewis, St Andrew.
Driver Sylvester Taylor was manoeuvring a tractor in the field when he saw the slithery creature, he placed the tractor's bucket on it and reportedly took off "like a hare rabbit", leaving other workmates, including some from the Veterinary Services, to subdue it.
Assisting in the capture were Corrie Williams of Soil Conservation who held the elusive creature by the head, while Carmichael Griffith of the same office, and Andrea Browne and Steven Greenidge from Veterinary Services, held on to the body.
According to Browne, who kept her cool throughout the exercise, the snake was very strong.
"For its size I could not believe how strong it was. While some of the others were frightened, I put my foot on it and grabbed the body while Corrie held the head. I was not frightened; I was just cool through the whole ordeal. In fact, it was me who held the bag in the back of the jeep while we brought it up from St Andrew," she said.
It was taken to the Government Laboratory in the Pine, St Michael, where, as news of its capture spread, a number of people gathered to catch a glimpse of the first snake caught since news broke that several of the reptiles were appearing across Barbados.
It was eventually transported to the Barbados Wildlife Reserve in St Peter. Government officials are yet to determine its fate.
Senior Veterinary Officer Dr Mark Trotman said there had been about ten sightings over the last two months and some people were beginning to question whether their existence was fact or fiction.
"However, this should confirm what we knew all along," he said.
He added people who had these snakes from small as pets, freed them when they started to grow instead of calling his department or the Wildlife Reserve for them.
He noted that while some people bought them from pet shops, several were smuggled into the country, mainly from South American countries.
Trotman said while Boa Constrictors were not poisonous, they killed their prey by coiling around and suffocating rather than crushing.
He cautioned people who came into contact with them to call the relevant authorities.
Trotman explained that boa constrictors could grow up to 15 feet and weigh upwards of 50 pounds.
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