For those of you who have followed Go Visit Hawaii for a while, you know that I’m an admitted scaredy cat. Let me now share with you that snakes are on my list of the most scary things on the face of the earth. (Is anybody with me?) So, one of the many reasons I like visiting the 50th State is that Hawaii doesn’t have scary snakes. That means that I don’t have to be on the lookout for snakes when I’m hiking in Hawaii. Yay!
Hawaii’s Department of Agriculture actively seeks to prevent snakes from arriving and living on the islands. In fact, there’s a hotline (643-PEST) that residents and visitors are encouraged to call if they find a snake.
When a snake if found in Hawaii, it becomes a news item. For example, here’s a news release reporting that a snake was found in Hilo Harbor on January 26, 2007. Notice this interesting excerpt:
Snakes are illegal in Hawaii and anyone spotting a snake should not try to handle it. Snakes have no natural predators in Hawaii and pose a serious threat to Hawaii’s environment. Many species also prey on birds and their eggs, increasing the threat to endangered native birds. Large snakes can also be a danger to the public and small pets.
As I was researching this fact, I learned that that Hawaii does actually have a snake, the Brahminy Blind Snake (Ramphotyphlops braminus). I’ve learned that this snake is the size of an earthworm. These snakes are non-venomous and harmless to humans. Here’s a YouTube video that shows how small they are.
Sheila Beal
3 comments
Hawaii also has no Tarantulas – Despite what you may have learned from watching the fourth season of the Brady Bunch’s Hawaii vacation where Bobby finds a cursed Tiki in a cave which supposedly causes a tarantula infestation in the Bradys Waikiki hotel room…
“Hawaii Bound,” 22 Sep 1972 – Episode #72
“Pass the Tabu,” 29 Sep 1972 – Episode #73
“The Tiki Caves,” 6 Oct 1972 – Episode #74
You’re the only scaredy cat that I know who’s brave enough to go ziplining.
I remembering hearing about a snake spotting on Maui a few years ago, had to dig up the articles.
http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/17862.html
I don’t think they ever found anything, though. *chills*
@ Dave – I didn’t know about the tarantula infestation myth.
@ Kris – Hehe – sometimes I have to talk myself out of being a scaredy cat for the sake of having some fun.
Sheesh! Can you imagine how awful it would be for a snake to get established in Hawaii? There’s a brown tree snake from Guam that the islands are concerned about. It can and has arrived to Hawaii via military shipments. So far, they’ve been captured. http://www.state.hi.us/dlnr/Snake.html