Although I’m not a snake enthusiast, I’ve always appreciated snakes. No, I don’t feel drawn to them. I just simply admire the patterns and the behavior that they exhibit. So, imagine my surprise when a commotion at the rear side entrance of the school gave me a close encounter with a real wild specimen.
It happened about two days ago. My supposedly quiet (boring) but rainy afternoon was interrupted by one of the cleaners barging into the kitchen. Christopher, the said cleaner, was asking for help on how to deal with snakes. I asked why. He said he needed to take care of one ASAP. So I reluctantly went with him to the rear area of the school. Then there it was, a green, scaly viper, complete with the characteristic spear shaped head and a tongue flicking in and out of its closed mouth. It was on on the concrete floor just a few feet away from the grassy flanks of the walkway. It wasn’t scurrying away from us despite the 4 people around it. Instead it was almost motionless (well except for the forked tongue), but poised and ready for an attack (the neck was coiled in a striking pose).
I told Christopher not to do anything because I’m almost a hundred percent sure that it was poisonous. It had a slender body decorated with a captivating light green stripes alternating with thin white or yellow bands. Since I know that slender bodies are usually for snakes built for speed (and not for constriction), I was very hesitant about moving closer than 4 to 5 feet from the reptile. But my fascination kept me from running away from it too. I kept on thinking of a way to capture the marvelous serpent.
Christopher distracted me with a question. Will it die from getting smashed, he said. I answered him with a yes, but depending on what you hit it with. Before I knew he took a long pole from one of the rooms and then whipped the pole straight into the unsuspecting snake. And with a single hit, it was dead.
I made my disappointment known after I saw the creature wriggle and slowed down to a permanent halt. I told the cleaner how very uncommon it was to see a wild snake, especially something so magnificently decorated, this close and not in captivity. However, their concerns seem to be more practical in nature than mine. The snake was dangerous, it was blocking the walkway, and the kids might get bitten by it, so the quickest and most effective way to dispose of the problem was to eliminate the snake there and then. How could I argue with that? I didn’t exactly have an alternative to present.
So, my brief encounter ended sadly. It was quite memorable and exhilarating but it was also tragic. My only consolation was that the snake I saw was not of an endangered species, and they are pretty common in the jungles of Borneo. You don’t have to own a gps handheld garmin to tread the green backyards of the school in order to see another one. I was told that a lot of teachers have seen similar snakes so maybe I might just get another glimpse. Who knows.