Why You Should Respect The Bahamian Boa

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The Bahamas has many protected animals, but did you know that a snake is one of them?

It may not be one of our beautiful national symbols or our beloved neighborhood pets, but a wildlife biologist tells our Joshua Williams why you should respect the Bahamian boa in this report.

Earlier this week we looked at the dangers of the Burmese Python.

A sighting of the suspected Burmese Python on the island of Abaco has caused widespread panic. Residents are being asked to be on the lookout, and officials are investigating whether the potentially invasive species is on the island.

And while this species is invasive, many don’t know about snakes unique to us, like the Bahamas boa constrictor.

Here’s wildlife biologist Scott Johnson.

“Now on Abaco, they have their own species called the **** which is more light gray with darker spots on the back and so it’s the smallest. It doesn’t grow as big as an adult female Bahamian boa that you can find on the islands of the great Bahama bank and these guys can grow up to 8 feet but the ones in Abaco grew up to be about three or 4 feet so they’re not that big.”

Now if you’re like me you don’t like snakes . It’s a posture many other Bahamians have also taken.

But Johnson says here’s what many don’t understand about snakes.

“One, our native snakes are harmless – they’re not gonna pose a threat to anybody and I know that when incidents like this pop-up people tend to go hysterical but please I recommend that nobody starts freaking themselves out over the snakes. We have to go and find the animal the animal is not in an area that pose a threat to humans.”

Therefore if you see a snake in the wild you should leave it alone.

“The animal is in the wild it’s and it’s natural environment and it’s just doing what it normally does and that is it’s moving about and looking for prey looking for someplace to rest is looking for someplace to shed. Skin is looking for someplace to digest food, it’s not looking to harm anybody “

And for those of you tempted to kill a snake when you see one.

“So going out of your way to put the pull up out a cutlass and chop the is a foolish thing to do. They’re living breathing animals just like your dogs and your cats and so you may not like them because they don’t have legs and arms and stuff like that, but they are integral part of the Bohemian ecosystem. They deserve to be protected. They deserve to be treated with respect, just like any other animal.”