Acrantophis madagascariensis © belgianchocolate on Flickr
friendly boa
Madagascar has some snake species. The largest ones are the Madagascar ground boas. This is the smallest species of the boa-family on Madagascar. It's scientific name is Acrantophis madagascariensis. On Madagascar you can spot these animals in the east and the north in dry forested area's often near water. And that is where we found her. After a morning of climbing we went swimming in a grotto not too far from the campsite at réserve spéciale de l'Ankarana'. She , according to Jacques our guide , she lived there in the area and often took a bath in the grotto. He said she was a friendly one...I took a closer look and I believed him. (the german woman we had with us was for sure more venomous then this constrictor-type of snake). She was there to escape from the heat and enjoy herself in the water ;-) just like us. This species eat birds, rats, chickens, lizards, and many other mammals in the wild. They got a special organ to find their prey even in the dark , it works with heat sensors. They can reach a lenght of 1,8 m and we got every reason to believe that they are endangered , altough specific numbers are not available
Photo taken on 22 Oct 2005