Memoirs of a Wild Biologist - Chapter 1: Wildlife Encounters

So why is it that I have an affinity to snakes? Is it some kind of symbolic gesture that they crawl from all points in the universe to show themselves to ME? While in Japan, I saw TWO snakes. How many visitors to Japan have reported snake sightings? Yes, we were in an isolated wooded area south of Tokyo where snakes were more likely to be seen but inhabitants of the area (six years of occupation) had never seen a snake UNTIL I came to visit.

The first memorable incident was when I was five years old. We lived in North Carolina - a very snaky place. It was a glorious fall day; the arboreal colors were in full regalia. That was equally matched as a great day because I had just learned to ride a two-wheeled bike. Up the driveway, down the driveway, up the driveway, down again, and again and again. The U-turn point was the garage. I would adeptly whip my bike around and out I’d go for another round, Up...down... On about the seventh round, I wheeled the bike into the garage and was becoming quite cocky about my ability when I looked down onto the concrete floor and behold....a snake. It was copper splotched snake, about 18 inches long, laying still, looking up at me. Fear prevailed, I froze, then dropped the bike and ran up the stairs into the house. I was screaming “Daiddy (southern for Daddy) Daiddy - a snake, in the garage! Now you must understand that my father was NOT an outdoors-man and may not have seen many snakes. His outdoor abilities were exhibited on a tennis court and once...I saw him mow the grass probably because the neighbors would notice. His fear of snakes probably far surpassed mine! He ran to the gardening tools, grabbed a hoe, ran back into the garage and chopped the snake’s head off. Not much blood was shed. Two pieces of snake, long wiggly body, head. We took the snake parts to be identified at the local Nature Museum. It was a poisonous copperhead, a small one, probably curious, out cruising, juvenile dispersal. I was sad.

Many years passed. I had moved the southwest and become a biologist after years of school and field experience. Drum roll...the second major incident and this one was a major incident. History: I had become a biologist and was working in the ultimate wilderness of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon. And there we were....the man of my dreams...can you possibly imagine having a romantic interlude on a river trip (happens everyday actually)? Oh but yes, we met, we kissed, we were entangled in a passionate position, he was on top of me....for what seemed like minutes (forgive me ex-man of my dreams) ... then we were still. And suddenly a RATTLING bone chilling to core, directly behind MY head!! How is it that you KNOW the sound of a rattle snake even if you’ve never heard one? My first instinct was to JUMP up and run (commonly known response to fear - flight or fight and there was no fighting to be had!). My lover, the bastard, held me down and said “don’t move”. “Screw you” was my response! But he was stronger, damnit! He slowly stated “the snake is in MY FACE so stop struggling please”. I lay there trembling, breathing hard, heaving actually, very scared. The rattling stopped, then, the snake slowly slithered away.

The third incident was in Thailand. A friend and I were traveling in this beautiful, culturally rich, country!! Colors, delicious foods, friendly people in “the land of smiles”. But language was somewhat a problem. At least the alphabet looked like hieroglyphics! Smiling with pantomime proved to be a big asset.

My friend and I hired a driver in Bangkok to take us to Khao Yao National Park, north of Bangkok. He drove like a bat out of hell, hit and killed a dog, never slowed down. You just close your eyes and hope you don’t have a fatal accident. We arrived at the park and were told there is no public lodging there. Huh. We decided to walk around a bit before crumbling to ground and crying because we were too stupid to go there without having plans. But alas, a woman park ranger came to our rescue. She felt sorry for us, offered to let us stay in her home in the park. We made ourselves at home, comfy, warm, away from the luminous clouds and insects we could hear even within the walls of our sanctuary. I slept on the couch next to an open screened window. The sounds of the night were all consuming - insects, large cats screeching, and gibbons...all night long. We awoke as our hostess was off for work. Discreetly, we left money for her hospitality and off to breakfast we went. We learned breakfast in Asia was consistent with any meal, curry, fruit, rice...the same. We Americans have been had by Kelloggs!! What a marketing scheme, eh? While in the open air café, we met a couple from America that was going on an “exploratory” hike in the park. We asked to join them, got the affirmatory, we parted ways to obtain lunch, get water, all those hikey things. While my companion went to get her belt pack, I noticed our hiking companions putting on what looked like canvas gators. When asked what they were doing, they asked “haven’t you got any leech socks?” WHAT - LEECHES? I replied “ah no, where do you get those?” As instructed, I went to the park store and bought two pairs of “LEECH SOCKS” for my companion and myself. As I approached Dawn with our new attire, she asked what they were. I explained. Being a good sport, she grabbed the socks, raised only one brow, huffed off and didn’t offer to pay me back.

As we rendezvoused, a female guide, Noi, that worked for the park asked to join us wanting to know about this particular trail. Into the jungle we went, great spirits, great weather, incredible birds. At every turn, a new species, jungle sounds, a new respect for ratan, a native plant used for benign, lovely furniture, which in the wild shreds your flesh.

In the middle of day, we had lunch by a stream. Bananas, bread, water. We sat on the ground gazing out across the landscape. I thought I was having a" flashback" from the '70's”. The ground was moving...thousands of terrestrial LEECHES were moving toward the heat and motion which happened to be me. YIKE - I decided to pace as we ate... I get it, the need for LEECH socks. After the restless lunch, on we went, across the stream, up a slippery hill, the trail stopped. Huh. We tried to machete our way through the dense jungle but the going was too slow, we were going to loose the light, Okay, my guiding instinct took over, we should go back to stream and find where we had lunch and go back the same way. All agreed. Gleefully, we started down the hill through the jungle, found an actual trail to the stream. Into the water we went and down stream we walked (are there piranha in Asia?) Our male companion went first (oh how brave) then me and the other three women. The stream was narrow and the vegetation was brushing against us as we walked. Then....I heard an enormous splash ... Right next to me....a giant, bright green snake about six feet long with a head the size of my hand that leaped into the water and was swimming next to my leg!! Usually, I can maintain composure, but not this time. I jumped and screamed like a girl!! Then apologetically I explained “Excused me, but that was a very large snake next to leg.” Breathing hard, all others in my party had dispersed, or levitated, onto the banks. I was asked what the snake looked like. The male companion that was leading the expedition then asked if I would like to know what the snake was. Um, no, not really, not until we get back to the trail head, but thanks though. We managed to get back to the trail head, fun had by all. I found a small leech under my watchband, still have the scar. The snake was identified as white-lipped viper - poisonous. I heard from a friend that lived in Thailand studying gibbons that if this snake bites you, you’ll probably make it to a hospital.

Finale Three years ago, I was collecting bird census data along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon. After the several days, I decided to sit under the trees in the shade and enter the data from the sheets I carried daily onto my laptop computer. I had a very low to the ground chair which I sat in with the computer on, guess what, my lap. Data sheets next to me, the computer case held the sheets that I had entered into a spreadsheet on the computer. Hours passed, I was very focused. What a nerd I am sometimes!! And once again, there was that sound...the distinct rattle of a snake - UNDER MY CHAIR!!! I threw the computer off my lap into the sand and dove after it! Upon gaining my composure, I went back into my shaded sanctuary to gaze upon the snake. It was crawling onto my computer case over the data sheets. Nice, very exhilarating! We got pictures.

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