Yes, stupid people kill them all the time. They’re looking for small prey and want nothing to do with us. But that’s true of venomous snakes too. Saw an immature – small, maybe 20cm – in our yard last week. Twenty years ago I would “needed” to kill it, but unless you have small children there’s really really not much danger. I know people get bit in Taiwan every year, but I live in an area with many snakes and have never ever year of a single biting in 20+ years.
Can anyone help me identify an animal I saw near our house last week? It was at night. It had a fat, round body with smooth, short fur, short legs, and a small head with a narrow, weasel-like nose. About the size of a cocker spaniel but low to the ground. It ran across the road when I was driving home. I’ve been looking online to see what it was but can’t find anything.
[quote=“asiababy”]Can anyone help me identify an animal I saw near our house last week? It was at night. It had a fat, round body with smooth, short fur, short legs, and a small head with a narrow, weasel-like nose. About the size of a cocker spaniel but low to the ground. It ran across the road when I was driving home. I’ve been looking online to see what it was but can’t find anything.[/quote]Is this what you saw? We have these in the forest behind our house and we feed them fruit. Very cute.
There used to be a thread called “Wild animals you have seen in Taiwan”, and I can actually find it through the search function, but when I click on the link presented there, the thread “Lots of dead birds - why?” comes up instead. In case someone renamed the old thread, I’m opening a new one here, since I like the topic and have something to contribute, namely the pangolin I met last night. The post might be too big for this forum, so here’s the link.
[quote=“TwoTon”]There used to be a thread called “Wild animals you have seen in Taiwan”, and I can actually find it through the search function, but when I click on the link presented there, the thread “Lots of dead birds - why?” comes up instead. In case someone renamed the old thread, I’m opening a new one here, since I like the topic and have something to contribute, namely the pangolin I met last night. The post might be too big for this forum, so here’s the link.
Hope you like.
Hans[/quote]
Cutest animal EVER!! Thanks for posting the whole great story and your awesome photos.
And thanks 100x over for giving this wee little beastie a chance at survival, setting it free after being gentle with it instead of selling it to someone who would kill it. How could they? I’ve chopped chickens’ heads off, and helped kill a pig without flinching, but no way could I hurt that critter.
Congratulations. You’re the first one to fall for it - thanks for being kind I only added that whole “sell it for five hundred bucks” bit to see how people would react. As an avid snake photographer, I’ve caught tens of thousands of dollars slithering around the woods these past two years, but I released them all after I’d taken my pictures. I give weekly talks about snakes in elementary schools in an attempt to keep the next generation from being as environmentally abusive as their fathers… no way I would even sell the frogs in our backyard.
Sorry for the poor quality, but I took this picture with my SE K800 cel phone. It’s buffalo that roams around the park area near the athletics stadium behind the baseball stadium in Tainan. Pretty close to the Jian Kang and Nan Men road intersection. I was having a smoke and a beer in the park when he lumbered along.
I only added that whole “sell it for five hundred bucks” bit to see how people would react. As an avid snake photographer, I’ve caught tens of thousands of dollars slithering around the woods these past two years, but I released them all after I’d taken my pictures. I give weekly talks about snakes in elementary schools in an attempt to keep the next generation from being as environmentally abusive as their fathers… no way I would even sell the frogs in our backyard.