SNAKE HANDLING WITH THE SNAKE SIOUX FOUNDATION

Snakes will either spark curiosity or fear in people, the latter being the more common. This reaction is not without justification, as disturbed snakes will defend themselves against predators or threats like humans. 

Living in the middle of a forest, our Post-Release Monitoring (PRM) team members often come in contact with snakes. With this in mind, the BOS Foundation collaborated with BOS Switzerland and the Indonesian Snake Sioux Foundation to provide snake-handling training for our PRM team members at Camp Nles Mamse, on 25-26 January. As a result of this training, our PRM team members’ perceptions of snakes changed.

During training, our team learned that snakes are classified into three groups based on the strength and type of their venom: neurotoxic, hemotoxic, and cytotoxic. There are snakes endemic to Indonesia from each of these groups, with weak or highly potent venom, such as cobras and vipers.

The process of identifying a snake species is critical in knowing how to avoid or handle snakes in the forest. During the training session, our PRM team members were taught how to recognise and safely handle snakes when required. Trainers also explained how to properly treat snake bites and how to administer effective first aid to a victim of a snake bite.