Pet snakes find shelter at Yunnan wildlife park

The Kunming-based wildlife rescue and breeding center of Yunnan Wildlife Park received a king snake on April 26. With snowflake-like patterns on its body, the snake was seen winding around a e-bike wheel by Mr. Lang, who was on his way to work but managed to send it to the center.

Zoologists at the wildlife center speculated that the privately-fed snake either escaped from or was deserted by the owner for king snakes with snowflake-like patterns are a common pet snake among dwellers in the spring city.

A pet snake is handled by staffers at Yunnan Wildlife Park. Photo/Yunnan Daily

Since April, Yunnan Wildlife Park’s rescue center has offered shelter to three beauty rat snakes and four king rat snakes, and all were sent to the center by their owners.

In the center’s temporary breeding area, the reporter saw that in addition to native snake species and common pet snakes, there also live snake species under state protection, such as ball pythons, Myanmar pythons and python bivittatus, which have all been kept as pets.

Yunnan is dubbed as the kingdom of animals, and the center’s zoologists said the beauty rat snake and the king rat snake are frequently seen in urban Kunming. They are better known as rape-seed flower snakes because the patterns on their back are similar to those of rape flowers.

 

A pet snake finds shelter at Yunnan Wildlife Park. Photo/Yunnan Daily

As non-poisonous snakes, both are species under state protection, and they can be beneficial for their economic and scientific values. However, Kunming also houses poisonous snakes such as the many-banded krait, the green bamboo pit viper, and the king cobra.

Snakes will only attack folks when threatened, and the zoologists warned the public of staying away from the snakes and calling the fire department or forest police for help at the sight of indoor snake(s). In the case of being chased by a snake in the wilderness, one is supposed to run along a upward, zig-zag route.

Reporting by Li Zha (Yunnan Daily); Trans-editing by Wang Shixue