snake

It is always a risk when exotic animals and plants are introduced to a new area. That's one of the reasons Customs requires you declare them, and why many of them are quarantined or destroyed.

Geez, I learned that in elementary school, I think. They don't teach that any more?

CruzanIron I'm sorry, I didn't mean to give that impression at all. What I meant is that all snakes are perfect in their native environments, BUT an exotic snakes can be a grave danger out of it's own environment.

I think it is just too big a risk to take for any live exotic snake to be on our islands. Please google Guam or Everglades to see what exotic snakes can to.

I know how to use Google, thank you. My only point was that the snake should have been captured and removed to another location outside of the VI. OR given to someone responsible enough to care for it in captivity. It should not have been killed.

It is always a risk when exotic animals and plants are introduced to a new area.

There's also a risk when some homo sapiens are introduced to a new area ... just as well we don't arbitrarily destroy them when they don't fit in, however obnoxious some of them are. 😀

There's also a risk when some homo sapiens are introduced to a new area ... just as well we don't arbitrarily destroy them when they don't fit in, however obnoxious some of them are. 😀

Ha, ha. Those who don't fit in usually leave. A snake can't go back home.

Lol....true!

It's a difficult never ending job to protect our islands environment. Another good example on STX is this introduced meat eating 8" lizard. Luckily that aren't big enough to eat you or I (lol), but I did see one run across the parking lot at Gallows Bay Hardware with a old piece of fried chicken in its mouth.

I know Dr Coles from DPNR and others are aware of them, but I'm not sure what's being done to eradicate them. I'm also not sure how far they have spread yet. They usually hang around dumpsters and I've seen them around Subway Goldenrock and the BBQ place on the east side of Christensted.

This new pest also eats our cute native gecko! Who knows, If we eat Lion Fish, maybe humans will learn to eat this Lizard!

Here's an article from VI Consortium with pics of another boa found at Mt. Washington. This may indicate a larger problem than believed at hand in STX.

http://viconsortium.com/featured/are-there-snakes-on-st-croix-yes-says-sauce-creole/

That one was also killed.

Nature is very adept at recovering. The mongoose were brought in to control the rats who were eating up the sugar cane but the plan flopped because rats are nocturnal and mongoose are diurnal. The mongoose instead ate up snakes and the eggs of the ground doves. The snakes managed to adapt and survive and the ground doves learned to build their nests off the ground to make it more difficult for the mongoose to rifle them.

Just a few years a virus killed off a lot of the mongoose population and the snake population dramatically increased - as did the ground dove population. As the virus passed the mongoose population has increased, the snake population is diminishing.

It all works out.

I doubt a Mongoose can kill a 7 ft. snake.

Another thing that makes me sick is that humans kill snakes, and sharks, and other creatures who pose a risk to humans. I agree with OT 100% on her earlier response about humans.

Snakes are magnificent creatures and they deserve to live on this planet as much as any other creature. They could be relocated, they don't need to be killed.

I doubt a Mongoose can kill a 7 ft. snake.

You obviously missed my point.

As you missed mine.

There's still a bounty on Mongoose in our laws.
Too bad they can't eat all the wild, roaming chickens!

Islandjoan, I agree with you 100%!
People should be ashamed for arbitrarily killing animals out of fear or fun.

For the Virgin Islands, it would be fairly easy to export our few exotic snakes before they get a strong foothold on our shores; if the sad owner would let them go.

Now for a massively emotional question...what would it you do with the estimated 150,000 Pythons in South Florida? My brain shivers at that difficult answer.
The poor snakes, it's not their fault that man caused this problem.

Wow, 150,000 pythons in South Florida? I don't have the answer, but Florida also has alligators, and several species of poisonous snakes. So I guess let the pythons live, we can't kill everything that threatens humans.

Wow, 150,000 pythons in South Florida? I don't have the answer, but Florida also has alligators, and several species of poisonous snakes. So I guess let the pythons live, we can't kill everything that threatens humans.

Like the lionfish?

The lionfish doesn't threaten humans, directly, but it does threaten the existence of reef fish, and therefore, the entire ecosystem of the reef and oceans themselves.

So the lionfish needs to be eradicated.

I have not researched the impact of the python to South Florida's ecosystem and in fact it may threaten it. So if that is the case I will retract my statement.

On to google and bing....

I retract my statement.

I did not know anything the impact the estimated 150,000 pythons are having on S. Florida's ecosystem. That story wasn't on my radar but now I know after some quick research.

This needs to be moved to the PETA forum.

This needs to be moved to the PETA forum.

Where it will be killed by the moderator, like PETA does with most of its shelter animals.

PETA/ Under the coconut tree. Same thing

The non-native snakes roaming south Florida are a big problem there.

Why didn't they relocate them when they first appeared?

It was too late to relocate. Now they have hunting contests and can barely find any.

I was headed to my tax guy when I saw people standing around this snake in the parking lot. So I videoed as they interviewed him.

I tried to post the video/pics, but I can't!

Dr. Coles has captured a few snakes on stx already and is currently keeping them as pets.. Its a matter of time before it becomes a serious problem.