Emerald tree snake (Hapsidophrys smaragdina)
Many a time, as I walk through the forest, a particularly vivid green vine transforms before my eyes into an emerald tree snake, often as I am just about to walk into it. Thankfully these well-camouflaged snakes are non-venomous and so I can enjoy my encounters with the elegant serpents without fear for my life.
The slender dazzling green snakes with their striking black eye stripes are, in my opinion, very beautiful and I am always happy to see them emerge from the undergrowth.
On ocassion the emerald tree snakes have made an even less expected appearance, such as the time when one fell almost into my lap from a beam above me as I sat reading outside my tent. We are told by Nadia and Keith that it is not uncommon for snakes to fall from the trees above as you walk through the forest and so I sincerely hope that it is the harmless emerald tree snakes that continue to fall into my path and not their more deadly relatives!
While I more frequently encounter birds and mammals on my forest visits, and these tend to be the focus of the attention of tourists who come here, there are many equally fascinating reptiles lurking among the roots and vines. I have been lucky enough to see several of Semliki’s reptile species, such as the blue-headed tree agama, rock python, spotted bush snake and velvety-green night adder, but it is the emerald tree snake that I will remember most fondly. Due to my frequent encounters with the slender serpents, and to their elegance and knack of materialising from the vegetation before my eyes, the emerald tree snake is my favourite of the reptiles I have seen in Uganda so far and is also my 8th ‘animal of the week’.
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