Art Peekel

In a previous posting I wrote about scorpions. Snakes are another story. And to state that poisonous ones merit special attention is certainly an understatement.

I can honestly say that snakes, in general, don't frighten me. Don't get me wrong; I'm not like some of my former students who seemed to enjoy hnadling them. Steve C., while a student at Exeter Academy, sometimes carried his pet Boa Constrictor around with him in a pillow case. Can you imagine?

Back when I was in grade school there was this kid who carried a garter snake around in a front pocket of his jeans. He liked to scaare the girls with it. Makes you wonder what course his life took.

Until recently I had never seen a poisonous snake except in a zoo. I can remember as a young boy watching Marlin Perkins on TV. At the time he was employed by the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. I was very impressed by his careful handling of reptiles on his show Zoo Parade. The fact that he was betten by a poisonous snake and almost died left a lasting impression on me.

There is a poster on the inside of the door to the porch at my jungle "tree house" with large bold lettering at the top which reads "SERPIENTES VENENOSAS." On it are photographs and descriptions of 17 poisonous snakes found in various parts of Costa Rica. Four are categorized as coral snakes and one as a water snake. I haven't seen any of them, though my neighbors told me that a friend of theirs almost stepped on a coral snake when walking up the path to their house.

Of the 12 others 8 are listed as Pitvipers, and of the 8 there are 3 Palm Pitvipers: the Black-speckled, Side-striped and "my favorite" the Eyelash. You can look them up on the Internet as I did. Frightening to read just how poisonous they are. Worse to know you are living among them.

My story involves Lesa M. and Scott S., both former colleagues of mine at RMHS, who spent a week with me here in mid December. One of the highlights of our time together was a hike through the Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge which is just down the road from where I'm staying. You can read a detailed account of that wonder filled experience in another posting.

I must tell you, however, about our guide Tino, who was born and raised in this area of Costa Rica. My neighbor told me "he's the best!" And that he was!

There was no doubt that he knew a lot about the flora and fauna in the rain forest. He amazed us with his ability to spot all sorts of things even at a great distance. As teachers we especially appreciated his enthusiasm in sharing his knowledge. And he had his own special way of telling us what he wanted us to keep in mind.

"Don't grab onto anything as you walk along" Tino instructed. "Even if you are falling don't reach out to catch yourself!" His voice sounded very serious.

I wondered why and thought of how natural, how instinctive it would be to try to grab something, anything. What was the danger? His explanation followed.

"First you might well end up with a bloody hand from the sharp thorns on the branch or tree trunk. There's also the possibility of fire ants and you don't want to mess with them. But most important you cold be bitten by a snake hiding on the other side!" he warned. "A poisonous snake!" he added for emphasis.

Well, needless to say that got my attention. I found myself repeating under my breath "Don't grab anything! Don't grab anything! Not even if I'm falling down! Not even if I'm falling down! Not even...!"

Our hike took us into a primary forest. There we saw trees that towered above the canopy. The six of us joining hands could not have reached around any one of the trunks. They reminded me of the giant redwoods I had seen for the first time last year just north of San Francisco in the Muir Woods.

Tino was the first to see the snake. He invited us to come take a look. On the trunk of one of those trees I saw my first Eyelash Palm Pitviper.

"Don't get too close!" he said as if he needed to. "It's nocturnal and reacts to the body heat of its potential victim. But you really don't have to worry if you keep your distance. It can strike only about half its length" he said in an attempt to reassure us.

None of us seemed all that comforted even after judging it to be about two feet long. Sleeping or not it made me nervous. Fearful wouuld be more accurate!

I did manage to take several photographs. Yes! I used my telephoto option! We saw a couple more later that morning. Someday you'll be able to see them on my "blog."

My story doesn't end there unfortunately. Part Two takes place back at my jungle "tree house" a couple days later. Credit for the discovery goes to Scott.

"Art, come here! I want to show you something!" is more or less what he said. He and Lesa had been taking photographs and shooting a video of my place and the surroundings. I didn't know what to expect.

I don't recall what I said when I say it there curled up in the branches of a small bush along side the foundation of the house. If memory serves me right my first thought was one of disbelief. It really didn't look real. But it certainly did look exactly like the Eyelash Palm Pitvipers Tino had shown us on our hike through the Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge.

I do remember thinking "What is that snake doing here?" Silly of me of course because we were only a few kilometers away from the refuge. And we were in the rain forest after all.

"What are you going to do, Art? was Lesa's question.

"I don't know! Do you think I should kill it?" was all I could think to say. But trying to kill a poisonous snake seemed beyond me. My heart was racing!

Scott or maybe it was Lesa said something like "Don't you have a machete?"

I still couldn't see myself trying to kill that snake with anything, even on the end of a 10-foot pole. Well, maybe a bazooka!

Then the thought occurred to me to call my neighbor Noble. So that's what I did. He wasn't there but his wife Alaine was.

"I wouldn't kill it if I were you, Art. Noble wouldn't. Just let it be" was her advice.

Lesa and Scott were keeping their eyes on the snake. I went back to them to explain. The snake was making a move. No doubt now that it was real!

"I'm going to let it go"I heard myself tell them.

"You're going to do what? either one of them said out loud or I told myself. In any case that's the message I got. My heart was racing more than ever.

A quick bit of calculus in my head and I concluded there was a distinct possibility the snake was going to take up residence (if it hadn't already) under the house in which I resided. That was more than a bit disturbing. And that's the feeling I was left with as I saw its tail disappear into the darkness behind one of the support posts.

Here I am almost a month later and there's been no sign of my "pet"Eyelash Palm Pitviper since then. You'd better believe I don't walk around the outside of the house as carefree as before this episode. And yet Noble and Alain walk between our two houses barefoot even at night. Ah, there are some things in this world that were never meant to be understood.