iHerp Australia Issue 7 | Page 45

Legendary Indian herpetologist Rom Whitaker and his partner Janaki Lenin provide an interesting perspective as they remember their trip to Australia in 2016. “I don't ever want to see another reptile again,” Janaki muttered as her head slid across the back of her seat and came to rest on my shoulder. At any other time, I'd have been shattered by her words. We’ve been on so many reptile adventures together. But I understood what she meant. We had just completed a gleefully exhausting 'all you can see in two weeks' Australian reptilian extravaganza. It all began in Melbourne when we plunged headlong into the crazy world of private snake collections. I'm familiar with obsessive collectors, but this was the first time I had met snake connoisseurs. Nigel Souter has arguably the largest Tiger Snake collection in the world, with a representative of every population. I had dreamed of seeing the big fat black tigers of Chappell and Flinders Islands and here they were. His snake room holds 45 of every kind of colour variation, and some are so subtle that my colour-blind eyes couldn't spot the difference. Brown ones, black ones, some with markings, some without; Tiger Snakes don't come in dramatic colour morphs like tropical pit vipers. At the time of our visit, his collection actually grew larger, as a Tiger Snake was giving birth to live babies. A youngster emerged tail first, and then the rest plopped out, wrapped in its yolk sac. After pushing its way out of the yolk sac, the little critter lay seemingly stunned for a few minutes. Yawning, it took its first gulps of air before slithering across the box to join its brothers and sisters. What the hell is Nigel going to do with all the babies? He doesn't sell them, but says he'll trade them for some other cool snakes. I bet he'll just get more tigers. I kinda sympathise with him though; he's probably making up for his snake impoverished childhood in New Zealand. In Nigel's backyard, fat and happy Tiger Snakes live in large outdoor enclosures with natural substrate and plants, as close to the wild as they are likely to get. One lay draped over a rock, soaking up the evening rays. Left: Tiger Snake at Stony Rises. Image supplied by Adam Elliott and Adam Sapiano. Right: Thorny Devil at Melbourne Museum. Image by Adam Sapiano. Down the road, Ross Howlet keeps an extensive collection of death adders, the Australian elapids that masquerade as vipers. I had found and photographed some in New Guinea many years ago, and I could appreciate the fine differences between the beige, tan, russet and camel tones of these beauties. The enthusiasm these men bring to their hobbies is infectious, and none more so than 'Mantid' Maik... After feeding giant stingrays at the Melbourne Aquarium, we made our way over to the Melbourne Museum, where we met Australia's largest stick insect, thanks to Maik Fiedel. Janaki also got to hold and admire one of Australia’s most iconic reptiles, the delightful Thorny Devil. We had a long conver- sation with Mantid Maik and Adam Sapiano, our host and president of the Victorian Herpetological