I.III.II.IV – El Mirador: Day Four
EL MIRADOR
I.III.II.IV – DAY FOUR
05/10/22
After the third day, we’d have two more where we’d basically retrace our steps back to El Carmelita. It felt a little bit like undoing all our hard work over the previous days, and, this time, we had nothing to look forward to, except for a hot shower and a good night’s sleep waiting for us back in civilised land.
Or at least that’s what we thought – our next two days were fraught with new adventures, new discoveries about each other and new animal sightings; from reptiles and amphibians, to birds, mammals and all kinds of insects. As a wildlife enthusiast, I was pretty much in heaven. Time and time again I’d find myself stopping in order to admire one thing or another, with Luis always answering my endless barrage of questions.
Slytherin
Being incredibly knowledge about all things nature, Luis also went so far as to give us a lecture on snakes, telling us that whilst there are many families of snakes, the most important are four:
The oldest and largest members of the snake family with boa constrictors and pythons being prime examples. These snakes are non-venomous, have rigid jaws and a heavy skull. They typically lie and wait, their colour optimal for camouflaging and to ambush prey, using their heads to strike them and then slowly wrap themselves around their body, tightening their grip whenever the prey exhales.
This family comprises two-thirds of all snakes. These may be found on trees, on the ground, underground and even in water, with the commonest being garter, grass, rat and whip snakes. Whilst two-thirds are non-venomous and use constriction to kill their prey, the other third were the first species to develop venom as a hunting and defence mechanism, albeit a weak one which is delivered via their grooved rear fangs. Some of these have developed evolutionary traits to promote their survival, such as colour patterns that mimic venomous snakes, the ability to break off their tails in case of emergency and playing dead when predators are nearby.
All are highly venomous and include cobras, mambas, coral snakes and sea snakes. These have front fangs with venom that can be delivered quickly with one strike. These snakes utilise neurotoxins which cause paralysis after around six hours at most, and haemotoxins which result in red blood cell breakdown and necrosis.
The most advanced of all snakes, being able to survive in extreme climates. These include the fer-de-lance snake, bushmasters and rattlesnakes. They usually have a short, stocky body that is not ideal for hunting and as such lie in wait to ambush prey at night, with their slow digestion allowing them to eat less often and use less energy. They have long, hinged front fangs which can deliver venom deeper and faster than the elapids can, with neurotoxins helping them to paralyse their prey and fast-acting haemotoxins digesting them before they are even swallowed. Of note, the pit viper can use heat pits in order to hunt during the night and rattlesnakes use modified, dead scales in their tails which are shaken via special muscles to make the sound!
He then explained that these beings of wonder are cold-blooded, shed their skin three to four times a year and only need to eat once every two weeks (at the very least). They also flicker their tongue in order to pick up sent molecules from the surrounding environment in order to detect both preys and predators, at which point they can use their speed or fangs as defensive or predatory mechanisms.
Adding on to that, he told us that although 10% of all snakes are venomous, only 2% are dangerous to humans, with certain features being useful to distinguish between venomous and non-venomous ones, like the acronym RANA which stands for rojo, amarillo, negro and Amarillo to know whether a snake is venomous or not, with the sequence of red, yellow, black and yellow representing danger! Apart from this, he told us that vertical slit-like pupils are characteristic of nocturnal snakes and not venomous ones, much like what most people say.
That’s how we spent the entire day. Stumbling upon different animal and plant species and having Luis explain everything about them. So yeah, basically a dream come true to anyone interested in wildlife!