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ZooNooz Article - march 2006
Growing up giants
Tall oaks from little acorns grow. PETER HARLOW, Manager of the Herpetofauna division, reports on some newly acquired little snakes at Taronga that will grow tobe giants of the snake world.
Photographs Jeff Grant and Peter Harlow
The Reticulated Python is an inhabitant of South-East Asian forests, and holds the record for being the longest snake in the world.
As well as fascinating and unusual
reptiles, Taronga also displays some
of the group's largest living species.
Salt-water Crocodiles, Aldabran
Tortoises and the popular Komodo
Dragon are the largest species
of crocodile, tortoise and lizard
in the world. However it's been
some years since the zoo exhibited
impressively large snakes, so we
recently imported two hatchling Reticulated Pythons and two newborn
Anacondas from a zoo in the
United States. (They are currently
being held off exhibit.) If you have
ever pondered which snake species
is the 'largest' in the world, it's both
of these! The Reticulated Python is
regarded as the longest, while the
Anaconda is the heaviest.
Young Reticulated Python |
Some Taronga visitors
might think that the four-metre
Reticulated Python we have had
on display in Serpentaria for many
years is a bit on the large side. This
snake is actually a full-sized male,
but in the pythons and boas it's only
the females that reach truly recordbreaking
size. Our two hatchling
Reticulated Pythons are both
females, and will easily outgrow
the male in two or three years.
Although only one metre long on
arrival, within four months the
hatchlings have doubled in length
and are already eating full-grown
rabbits and piglets. By the end of
this year they will have doubled in
length again, and will then be put on display with the male.
Really big snakes are more likely to be found in zoos than in the wild.
The Reticulated Python is an
inhabitant of South-East Asian forests,
and holds the record for being the
longest snake in the world. It has
evolved such a large body size so as
to be able to eat large mammals, but
starts off eating rats as a hatchling.
Eventually this python can grow large
enough to eat prey the size of fullgrown
pigs, sun bears and occasionally,
people! And all that without chewing,
as, like all snakes, pythons must
swallow their prey whole.
Just exactly how big these snakes
really grow is hard to know. It is
virtually impossible to stretch one out
straight, and most reports of 'giant
snakes' are outrageous exaggerations.
There are no reliable records of any
python exceeding 30 feet in length
(9.14 metres), but many have come
very close. Probably the longest snake
ever reliably measured was 'Colossus',
a female Reticulated Python kept in
Pittsburgh Zoo, Pennsylvania. In 1958
she measured 8.7 metres long and was
150 kilograms in weight, with a girth
of 34 centimetres.
Young Anaconda (JG) |
The heaviest snake however
is not a python but the Anaconda,
sometimes called the Water Boa. This
species is virtually aquatic, and spends
its entire life in the warm shallow
waters of back swamps and marshes
in tropical South America. It's almost
as long as the Reticulated Python,
but can get much, much thicker and
heavier; reliable records suggest
that it can grow up to a maximum of
eight metres in length and over 250
kilograms. It also eats large animals;
caiman, peccaries and even juvenile
tapirs are consumed in a single
mouthful.
Really big snakes are more likely
to be found in zoos than in the wild.
Perfect temperatures, plentiful food
and the absence of parasites and
predators in captivity all ensure that
these species live long and carefree
lives, where they can grow old
gracefully and reach their full growth
potential. Occasionally very large
snakes are captured in the wild, and
these usually make the headlines,
often with ridiculous size 'estimates'.
The usual rule for giant snake
measurements is that they invariably
shrink once a measuring tape is
produced.
The Asian Reticulated Python
is still harvested from the wild for
its beautiful skin, which is made
into expensive fashion items such
as shoes, belts and handbags.
Prior to working at Taronga I was
involved in a research project on the
sustainability of this industry, and
visited many snake skinning factories
in Indonesia to gather information on
the diet, growth and reproduction of
harvested snakes. We measured over
1800 Reticulated Pythons killed for
their skins, but only six of these were
over six metres in length and the
largest was only 75 kilograms. None
was over seven metres. The average
snake in the wild is much smaller,
and no giants were ever seen. Your
chances of encountering a giant
snake in the wild are virtually zero;
the real giants of the snake world
probably only exist in zoos.
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