Main: the dark colour of Chappell Island Tiger Snakes helps
them to soak up the sun on cold mornings.
Insert (above): White’s Skink (Egernia whiteii) is common on
the island and represents an important foor resource for juvenile
Tiger Snakes.
Insert (right): the workshop included training on catching,
handling and first aid.
the shed that would serve as the venue for the workshop.
So that job was done. After the other guys had arrived by
boat, Justin and Chris decided to hold the theoretical part
of the workshop inside the shed, as it was quite hot and
sunny outside; not ideal conditions for handling snakes.
Ambrose and Grahame were familiar with Tiger Snakes
and very enthusiastic to participate, but some of the other
rangers needed a bit of encouragement to put their hands
on the snakes. Chris and Justin dispelled some of the
fallacies about snakes and pointed out facts such as
snake’s eyes look cloudy before sloughing - it’s not that
they’re going blind. As most of the Tiger Snakes had
ticks, the rangers were shown how to safely remove
these parasites, as well as how to get the snakes in and
out of hoop bags and how to use a hook and pinner
effectively.
Then heavy clouds suddenly appeared in the sky and it
was perfect timing to put the theory into practice outside.
It didn’t rain, so some of us set out to look for more
snakes. As always, herping on Chappell Island is a
bonanza! I remember in 1984 and 1986 a lot of the adult
Tiger Snakes were dark brown and banded, however, in
my last two visits I have only seen black specimens
without markings. Chris desperately wanted to see a
juvenile (they are quite rare) and he finally found one; a
nicely banded specimen about 80cm in length. Unlike
the adults this youngster had plenty of attitude.
Why are so few juveniles seen? They are having a hard
time on the island and I would hate to guess what the
survival rate is. Although there are mice and skinks
present, generally speaking the food resources for small