The eerie whistle of the Bushmaster snakes

One Planet News: Secret Amazon and Bushmaster snakes

by Annette J Beveridge

Many of us anticipate spending time in the wild but perhaps few would follow in the footsteps of explorer/adventurer Lucy Shepherd.

Lucy is a 25-year-old British explorer. She embarked upon a 50-day expedition to cross the Kanuku Mountains of Guyana from east to west. It was a journey that people thought was impossible to achieve. In the heart of Guyana, it is a jungle wilderness filled with Goliath bird eating spiders, anacondas, jaguars and bushmaster snakes.

If you haven’t seen Secret Amazon: Into the Wild, I urge you to do so. The recently televised programme follows Lucy’s arduous and daring trek along with a team of skilled Amerindians. Battling through the dense jungle, the team had to avoid a stampede of peccaries - wild pigs which are aggressive and have been known to kill.

But the eerie sound and presence of bushmasters at night were an ongoing danger.

Bushmasters

These are large pit vipers with a lethal venom. Found in scrublands and forests from Costa Rica to the Amazon River Basin, there are three species of bushmasters. They thrive in areas of intense precipitation.

Bushmasters often reach two metres in length but have been documented up to three and a half metres. Skin is a reddish brown, tan or pinkish shade with diamond shaped patterns, and often, there is a dark stripe extending from the eye to the back corner of the mouth.

A snake may coil at one site for weeks just waiting to ambush unsuspecting prey, which includes small mammals. Spiny rats are a favourite. Heat-sensing pits located in between the eyes and nostrils enable the snakes to detect and strike warm-blooded prey even in the darkest of nights. Occasionally, the snake will prey upon birds or other small animals.

It is known as the snake that never fears humans and is an unpredictable animal. Human victims of a bite are likely to die within the hour.

It is a nocturnal predator and endangered, but sadly, not protected by law; but the whistling sound it allegedly makes instils fear in those nearby. This was easily seen when Lucy and her team spent nights in hammocks away from the jungle floor.

When disturbed, bushmasters vibrate their tails in the leaf litter, but it is believed they can emit a whistle-like sound, although some state it is not bushmasters that make these sounds but Amazonian treefrogs.

Breeding

Bushmasters are the only pit viper to lay eggs. A clutch may have as few as five eggs or there may be up to 19 eggs in total. These are laid in a secluded location. The female remains close to the nest and does not eat during the incubation period which is usually between 60-79 days. The females protect the eggs but once the young emerge, they are independent but vulnerable. However, even the juvenile’s bite could be fatal.

Bushmasters have been known to follow humans for several metres if disturbed. They display an intimidating posture with the head held high ready to attack. There is a reason why these snakes are feared by those who encounter them.