| Above and Below. The Elephant Trunk Snake, Acrochordus javanicus Hornstedt, 1787. Photographed in Thailand (below). Note the heavy growth of algae on the skin of this snake. Adults may reach 2.9 m and they have a very robust body form. Elephant trunk snakes inhabit Indochina and Indonesia and prefer stagnant or slow moving water. Fish form most, if not all of the diet. They appear to use holes in banks and they may leave the water during heavy rains. Females have litters of 6-52. In some studies females reproduce once every three years or more, others suggest that females reproduce more frequently, with 66% of the population gravid in any given year. In Indonesia this snake is known as the Karung and is heavily hunted. See: Shine et al. 1995. Journal of Herpetology 29:352-360. |
