Vol 2 - The Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists' Club

THE FIELD NATURALIST No. 2/2006published. Sightings of rare birds have also been made. It has also documented many projectsundertaken by the Club, some of which include the marking of new trails, and the turtle taggingproject conceived by Ian Lambie and led by the late Prof. Peter Bacon.A Snake-Bite ExperienceGlenn WilkesOn Saturday 18th June 2005 at around 2.30 p.m. the incident occurred on a surveyedproperty boundary, and is thus quite accurately located. It was on the northern bank of the TompireRiver, south of Naranjo Trace (off Anglais Road, Cumana). Grid co-ordinates 1,193,770N,719,500E. Funso Aiyejina (proprietor) and I were walking in the shallow water of the river, when Idecided to look for a derelict building that we had stumbled on during an initial reconnaissance ofthe property.The river has a low bank which is undoubtedly covered when it is in flood. It then risesfairly steeply for about 4 m before levelling out. Resting next to the steeper bank was a large treetrunkabout 0.8 m in diameter. Using a buttress as a step, I climbed up on the tree, and walkedalong it looking for the best place to climbThe Quarterly Bulletin of theTrinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists’ ClubApril – June 2006Editor.……………...………………..Jo-Anne Nina SewlalAssistant Editor……………………. Christopher StarrContributors………………………... Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal,Christopher Starr, Matt Kelly, Stephen Smith, Alison andPeter Melville, Glenn Wilkes, Ian Lambie, John Lum YoungPhotographs…………………………Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal,Nicholla Johnson, Shane Ballah, Neil BirbalDesign & Layout…………………… Jo-Anne Nina SewlalTechnical Support ………………… Nolan Craigwell, JeromeRamsoondar, Nigel Austin, Enid NobbeeThe Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists’ Club is anonprofit, non-governmental organisation.Management Committee, 2006-2007President…. Reginald Potter (694-1160); Vice-President…Carrall Alexander (633-3373); Secretary….Shane Ballah (796-3335); Assistant Secretary…Richard Wallace (627-4307);Treasurer…...Selwyn Gomes (624-8017);Committee Members...Dan Jaggernauth (659-2795); StephenSmith (678-1766); Paula Smith (633-0697).Website: http://www.wow.net/ttfncContact: The Secretary, TTFNC c/o P.O. Box 642, Port ofSpain. Email: ttfnc@wow.netDisclaimer: The views expressed in this bulletin do not necessarilyreflect the opinion and views of the Trinidad and Tobago FieldNaturalists’ ClubMISSION STATEMENTTo foster education and knowledge on natural history andto encourage and promote activities that would lead to theappreciation, preservation and conservation of our naturalheritage.the bank. There were some bushes growingbetween the trunk and the bank, and itextended to about 0.5 m above the top of thetrunk. The bank itself had scattered smallbushes growing on it. As I stepped up withmy left foot from the trunk to the bank, I felta couple of mild, stabbing pains below mycalf. There was no discernable movement,nor was there any feeling of impact, and Iassumed that I had been “chooked by apicker”. I stepped back on the trunk, andusing the cutlass which I was carryingunsheathed in my right hand, probed thebushes looking for the “picker”. I then felt thesame type of pain in my right shin. Again,there was no feeling of impact or sign ofmovement, though my own probing of theadjacent bush would probably have disguisedany. Quite mystified, I continued looking forthe “picker”, until I heard Funso shout out inalarm. Even then, my mind turned to “jep”,and I looked up expecting to see him beingattacked. “It’s a snake!” he shouted, and Ijumped down from the tree and ran into theriver. I examined both legs and there wereunmistakable fang marks. Since I had not yetseen the snake, I asked him to describe it. Heseemed uncertain, and said it looked “sort ofblack and white”. Both his description andthe fact that the pain was mild seemed toindicate that it was perhaps a tigre. “It is stillthere, under the tree”. I approached the trunk2