The Spectacular Snakes of the Main Ridge Reserve
This week Amy Deacon, Lecturer in the Department of Life Sciences at The University of the West Indies, St Augustine and Secretary of the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists’ Club continues her series on the biodiversity of the Main Ridge Reserve (MRR). Today, she teams up with herpetologist Renoir Auguste to introduce us to the snakes of the MRR. Tobago has about 25 species of snake, none of which are venomous. Most of these species can be found in and around the Main Ridge. Among them are the Boa Constrictor - the largest snake on the island; the Brown Vine Snake - a common snake also found in gardens; and the Tobago False Coral – which can be found nowhere else in the world! Together these three species highlight just some of the different shapes, sizes and habits of snake fauna found in the reserve. Reaching an intimidating 4 metres long, the Macajuel (Boa constrictor) is the largest snake on the island. Within the Main Ridge it is fairly common, and may be f...