Hi Guys, has any of you had experienced an encounter with a poisonous land snake or scorpion? We all know how popular is cockfighting in the Phils and how the locals norture their winged fighters and brood. This unfortunately, together with rats, attracts the attention of unwanted visitors. I remember seing a huge snake's skin nicely stretched to dry by my next door neighbour, and we are talking about Dumaguete here, not a remote location! Furthermore, my brother in law caught an unspecified snake (I was there to see it all) hiding under our outside sink, brrrr....We keep our immediate house's surrondings clear of all logs, vases or any other potential snake's hiding place but you're never 100% snake proof. I was told that snakes are washed down to the city's suburbs when heavy rain higher up washes them down through the numerous ditches and canals. Do you know if Hospitals in Dumaguete stock any snake antivenom? How high is the risk of getting close and personal with one in the city or if stepping out in the forested suburbs? I was planning to go for a trip to the Cuernos dos Negros and I've heard of the current troubles with the NPA, how about snakes and other similarly dangerous creatures? Please give me some feedback!
Cuernos de Negros has the king cobra. An SU student once caught a "snake" during a field trip there and when he brought the snake to the SU lab, it was later identified to be a king cobra. (I personally saw this king cobra picked up by its tail by the student). An SU lab technician once related to me how he was chased by a king cobra by the Maite Creek at Camp Lookout, Valencia.
I never saw a live snake any where on Negros. I did see a snake on the highway that was small and VERY flat, don't know what kind, must have been the dead kind. I did get to see the Bohol python. That snake is a site to see and a must see when in Tagbilaran. When I saw that Bohol python the keeper said that it had a 50k. baboy for it's last meal. Now that is one big meal to swallow in one bite. Jim
how about killer-spiders, ants and cockroaches.... that scarexs the sh... out of me... Gotz, still wait for your txt... Rhoody
A cobra killed a sugar cane cutter last year. Not prevalent in Negros but, there are many in Luzon. This is why they burn the cane up here before cutting. The Philippine government released some pythons that are indigenous to Negros two years ago into the wild. Reticulated pythons can grow up to 25 feet and have been known to like the smell of dive gear!
We had a viper in our house last year. About 4 feet long and looked very much like a diamondback rattler without the rattle. As with most of nature's pests, the snakes, scorpions, and NPA just want to be left alone, unlike some of the pests downtown the wear uniforms and want your money! Larry
Yeah Larry, you're probably right on that. I remember a japanese friend of mine pretending to have TB and caughing like hell to the face of people asking for money in the street........it works all the time! Returning to the subject....any antivenom available at the hospitals or diving resorts?
