Costa Rica’s huge biodiversity actually extends to snakes. There are 141 species slithering, swimming, and burrowing via the nation’s assorted habitats. Considering the truth that all of those species are piled into a reasonably tiny nation, recording snake movies on my digital camera traps needs to be a typical incidence.
Unfortunately for me and my fellow snake lovers, this isn’t the case. Of the tens of hundreds of wildlife movies that I’ve recorded during the last a number of years, lower than 50 have featured these scaley legless wonders. So, what provides?
My digital camera traps depend on a passive infrared detector to inform them when to begin recording movies. This sensor is triggered by two issues: movement and variance in temperature. When the sensor detects motion within the space in entrance of the digital camera it begins recording. It is less complicated for the digital camera to detect bigger animals than smaller animals.
So, when a large animal, like a tapir, passes by you’d higher consider the digital camera is recording it. When a small snake makes its method in entrance of the digital camera, there’s a superb probability it’ll miss it. I additionally suspect that the sluggish, deliberate nature of most snakes’ locomotion doesn’t assist. As for the variance in temperature, usually snakes are going to be roughly the identical temperature as their surroundings, in order that doesn’t assist a lot.
Despite these obstacles, each from time to time, I’ll come throughout a snake video whereas reviewing an SD card plucked from a digital camera hidden within the wilderness. Sometimes it’s resulting from how the digital camera is positioned. If I’ve it targeted tightly on a close-by location, like a puddle of water, a snake’s motion (normally a big snake) is sufficient to set off the digital camera.
The different three causes the digital camera data a snake are:
- Some larger animal triggers the digital camera with its motion and the snake simply occurs to be there
- The snake is consuming one thing, inflicting a enough ruckus to set off the digital camera
- Some bigger animal is consuming the snake
I document indigo snakes (sabanera actual – en Español) from time to time in Guanacaste. They’re typically large enough to set off the digital camera themselves. I’ve recorded a black threadsnake (culebra hilo de bosque seco) twice.
Both instances being eaten. Once by a pacific screech owl and as soon as by an important kiskadee. I recorded a green-headed racer (corredora cabeza verde) taking a drink from a puddle, a neotropical ratsnake (ratonera) consuming some frogs, a tiger ratsnake (mica) touching noses with a coati, and a Central American rattlesnake (cascabel) being dragged away by an ocelot.
Sometimes I can’t inform which species of snake is starring within the present. I’ve recorded an unknown snake practically biting a raccoon, some very lengthy snake duking it out with an opossum, and an unknown, very skinny, snake getting completely thrashed and eaten by one other opossum.
Snake movies are so few and much between that it’s at all times a enjoyable shock to get one. Just think about the little hoot of pleasure I set free once I got here throughout the clips within the video beneath.
About the Author
Vincent Losasso, founding father of Guanacaste Wildlife Monitoring, is a biologist who works with digital camera traps all through Costa Rica. Learn extra about his initiatives on fb or instagram. You may also e-mail him at: [email protected]
