On Easter Saturday in Tobago, on a walk to Hillsborough Dam with a group of friends, we encountered the scene depicted in the photograph above. There were eight snakes altogether. One was on its own and the other seven lay in a tangled heap.
They measured between 4ft and 6ft. All were dead. There were no chop wounds so it seems they had been bludgeoned. This was on a deserted stretch of unpaved roadway from Mason Hall, bordered by bamboo and scrub. They must have been killed a few hours earlier since they were already stiffening, but not much time could have elapsed as there were no flies present. I am advised they were tree boas: an adult and perhaps all her young.
No poisonous snakes occur in Tobago and there can have been absolutely no justification for this slaughter. There is a ridiculous notion, supported to some extent by religious superstition, that snakes are inherently evil and, as we are wont to say here in T&T, "snake is snake".
Nothing could be further from the truth and the cruel killing of these beautiful and perfectly harmless reptiles is a reflection of the long, long way we have to go in learning to live in harmony within our environment and with due respect for all the other creatures that share it.
Alex de Verteuil,
Courland, Tobago