Th last great boa-defeating secret is white vinegar, which for some reason they can’t stand. Boa constrictors also find hot water and cold water intolerable – any difference to their warm and humid norm in the jungle. If you’re bathing in the candlelight, then simply chuck your red wine glass in its face. The alcohol should be placed in front of the boa’s nostrils, and the result will be an instant release in pressure. Boa constrictors hate the taste and scent of alcohol, and professional snake handlers commonly keep a bottle and cotton swabs close at hand. Should you ever wake up to find a boa constrictor coiled around your neck, there’s a simple strategy: grab your unfinished can of beer. © Wikimedia Commons User: Jose Reynaldo da Fonseca / CC BY-SA-3.0 They actually use asphyxiation, cutting off the blood flow to the creature’s brain and rendering it unconscious within seconds. One misconception is that boa constrictors suffocate their prey to death. 25psi is nothing compared to a saltwater crocodile’s 3700psi, but the boa constrictor uses its entire 2.5 metre body. Finally, the boa constrictor will squeeze with all its body weight. With its hooked teeth holding the prey in place, the boa constrictor instantly uses its remaining momentum to coil itself around the poor creature’s neck. When a rodent or lizard finally saunters past, the boa constrictor will propel itself from its secure branch perch with immense speed, and bite the prey deeply and accurately. Only rarely will a boa constrictor actively stalk its prey its time-tested strategy is the ambush. It will occasionally dangle its head down while flecking its tongue to analyse its surroundings, before retreating upwards to the shadows. The boa constrictor begins the hunt by slithering up a tree and waiting in place patiently. On the outskirts of the Amazon rainforest, the boa constrictor’s diet includes rodents, mice, bats and even monkeys. © Wikimedia Commons User: Tiago Falótico / CC BY-SA-4.0 Boa constrictors commonly grip handlers’ arms in snake enclosures, causing a spike of fear in the victim, but this is actually to prevent themselves from plummeting to the hard floor. One common misconception is that boa constrictors attack human beings at the drop of a hat, but in reality, they’re rarely aggressive. The species only measures 1.2 metres compared to the boa constrictor’s average of 2.0, yet the kingsnake has been witnessed taking on snakes much larger than itself, including the 1.5 metre ratsnake. However, it’s the California kingsnake which has the highest squeeze force relative to its size. By comparison, the average Burmese python, reticulated python, and ball python score 6.23, 7.2, and 4.0 respectively. This increased 2.6 fold when the diameter of the snake was doubled. The boa constrictor has the highest pounds per square inch squeeze force of any surviving snake, reaching 25PSI in a 2007 study. © Wikimedia Commons User: Angela Rothermann / CC BY-SA-3.0Įveryone knows that boa constrictors dispatch their prey via the cuddle of a lifetime, and science has now proven that the hype is justified. Scientists have no idea how many boa constrictors exist in the world, let alone whether they’re rising or falling. Being so common, their population numbers are a complete mystery. They particularly favour rainforests and grassy clearings within them, but woodlands, grasslands, dry tropical forest, thorn scrub, and semi-desert are also popular hangouts. The boa constrictor can thrive in almost any habitat. The only South American country they don’t inhabit is Chile, because of the impenetrable high Andes mountain range along its eastern border. The species also defies the ocean, and has natural populations on several islands, such as Lesser Antilles, Trinidad, Tobago, Dominica and St Lucia. Their southern reaches extend deep in Argentina, while their northern flanks just cross the border into Panama. Boa constrictors can be found slithering over approximately 2 thirds of the continent, including Brazil, Columbia, Venezuela, Paraguay, Bolivia, and more. The boa constrictor is an icon of panic, and making matters worse, it’s extremely common in its native South America. © Wikimedia Commons User: Gionorossi / CC BY-SA-4.0įew names in the snake world inspire fear quite like the boa constrictor, except maybe the black mamba (particularly since Kill Bill Volume 2 was released in 2004).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |