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HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong is residence to a wide range of snakes — from the venomous king cobra to bigger species such because the Burmese python. Whenever considered one of these reptiles is noticed slithering into a house or coming alarmingly near a residential space, Ken Lee is among the many snake catchers referred to as to seize the creatures.
But not like business snake catchers of yesteryear, whose catch is commonly served up as soup within the metropolis’s snake retailers, Lee doesn’t promote the snakes he captures. He is a part of a brand new breed of snake catchers who attempt to launch the reptiles again into nature.
“There are occasions where people have caught the snakes before I arrived on the scene, but unfortunately some of them were killed or fatally injured,” mentioned 31-year-old Lee, who’s considered one of Hong Kong’s youngest registered snake catchers. “Some people caught the snakes bravely, but actually it caused harm to wildlife.”
Like many different snake catchers within the metropolis, Lee is self-taught. He first began dealing with snakes on the age of 17, when he labored as an apprentice in a Hong Kong snake store. His expertise spurred him to be taught extra about biodiversity and biology, and he ultimately went on to review that at a college in Taiwan.
When Lee catches snakes, he makes use of a spread of apparatus — puncture-proof gloves, sticks, hooks, a torch and baggage. At occasions, he even makes use of his naked palms.
In early December, he made headlines when he efficiently captured a 3-meter-long (10-foot-long) Burmese python in a village positioned in a rural a part of Hong Kong. The similar month, Lee was additionally referred to as to a high-rise residential constructing in a rural space to seize a bamboo pit viper — a typical, venomous inexperienced snake whose chunk may cause a nasty swell.
The snakes he catches are despatched to the Kadoorie Farm and Botanical Garden, an area nonprofit group that shelters rescued wild animals. After a well being test, a lot of the creatures are then launched again into the native parks.
“I hope all these wild animals could be returned to nature,” Lee mentioned.
Currently, he works as a analysis assistant at 4 universities within the metropolis and volunteers on the Hong Kong Society of Herpetology Foundation, a nonprofit group devoted to the examine of reptiles and amphibians.
Even although Hong Kong has ample inexperienced areas that function totally different habitats for snakes, Liz Rose-Jeffreys, Kadoorie Farm’s conservation officer, thinks town’s city growth might threaten the survival of snake species.
“I think this is one of mutual respect, really. They are our wild neighbors, they’ve been here a lot longer than us, and I think we have a duty to respect nature,” she mentioned. “They form an important part of our ecosystem, so if we have to remove snakes, then it would upset the balance that has been established for many years.”
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