# Snakes & Protected Animals in Cyprus



## BabsM (May 24, 2008)

Veronica said:


> The scorpions are only itsy bitsy ones and even if they sting you it isnt dangerous
> The tarantulas are actually banana spiders and rarely seen away from the plantations.
> Ermmmm Buttttttttt!!!!! you might like to keep an eye out for Blunt nosed Vipers.


Yeh our kitten brought home a blunt nosed viper as a gift last autumn. She was having a whale of a time taunting it and jumping away when the snake went to bite her. She wasn't at all amused when my husband killed it.


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## kimonas (Jul 19, 2008)

BabsM said:


> Yeh our kitten brought home a blunt nosed viper as a gift last autumn. She was having a whale of a time taunting it and jumping away when the snake went to bite her. She wasn't at all amused when my husband killed it.


Ahhhh! Be careful! Although most people react like this to snakes, it is in fact a fully protected species under the Aurhus convention and there are very heavy fines and jail terms for deliberately harming one...Lucky kitten though! Various voluntary organisations will re-home unwanted dangerous snakes by releasing them in unhinhabited zones and reserves.


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## BabsM (May 24, 2008)

kimonas said:


> Ahhhh! Be careful! Although most people react like this to snakes, it is in fact a fully protected species under the Aurhus convention and there are very heavy fines and jail terms for deliberately harming one...Lucky kitten though! Various voluntary organisations will re-home unwanted dangerous snakes by releasing them in unhinhabited zones and reserves.


Oooh we didn't realise they were protected. Thank you for letting me know. Are all of the snakes in Cyprus protected? For future reference do you know who in the Larnaca area rehomes snakes? Several (different types) have been found near us and I doubt they will be the last.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

BabsM said:


> Oooh we didn't realise they were protected. Thank you for letting me know. Are all of the snakes in Cyprus protected? For future reference do you know who in the Larnaca area rehomes snakes? Several (different types) have been found near us and I doubt they will be the last.


The Black whip snake is non venomous and is the only natural enemy of the Blunt nosedviper as it eats the young ones. Many Cypriots have in the past killed black whip snakeswith the result that the viper has increased in numbers.
The other fairly common snake is the Montpelier which although it is venomous the venom is not as dangerous as that of the viper.


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## kimonas (Jul 19, 2008)

BabsM said:


> Oooh we didn't realise they were protected. Thank you for letting me know. Are all of the snakes in Cyprus protected? For future reference do you know who in the Larnaca area rehomes snakes? Several (different types) have been found near us and I doubt they will be the last.


The Cypriot Authorities got a bit of a pasting at the last EC inquiry into the status of implementation of the various directives and conventions that it automatically signed up to when joining Europe that relate to protection of biodiversity (and individual species). Basically there are no competent authorities or experts on the island that are qualified to complete the various studies (excepting the 'illegal' universities in the north which are far better funded and resoureced than those in the south). There were no detailed national status data available on over 56% of species in Cyprus. Recent research has shown that fragile and unique species endemic to the island are in grave danger from development and ignorance of hunters etc. Sorry, I'm rambling, but I find myself on the scientific committe of a forthcoming Biodiversity Conference for Cyprus and have read many papers on this subject recently. To answer your question there are 5 species of snake that are strictly protected under the EC habitats directive. The following will in particular be prohibited for these species: 

all forms of deliberate capture and keeping and deliberate killing; 
the deliberate damage to or destruction of breeding or resting sites; 
the deliberate disturbance of wild fauna, particularly during the period of breeding, rearing and hibernation, insofar as disturbance would be significant in relation to the objectives of this Convention; 
the deliberate destruction or taking of eggs from the wild or keeping these eggs even if empty; 

They are:

_Coluber jugularis _(Large Whip Snake)
_Coluber cypriensis _(Cyprus Whip Snake)
_Coluber najadum _(Dhal's Whip Snake)
_Telescopus fallax _(Cat Snake)
_Vipera lebetina _(Blunt Nosed Viper)

The other six species are not protected by the convention, but one species Natrix natrix, the grass snake is probably another unrecognised endemic which exists nowhere else but cyprus and will be re-named and protected following further research.

I'll ask a colleague about the removal of snakes, as I can't remember the details off the top of my head (probably after easter). In the meantime, tread carefully!


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## BabsM (May 24, 2008)

kimonas said:


> The Cypriot Authorities got a bit of a pasting at the last EC inquiry into the status of implementation of the various directives and conventions that it automatically signed up to when joining Europe that relate to protection of biodiversity (and individual species). Basically there are no competent authorities or experts on the island that are qualified to complete the various studies (excepting the 'illegal' universities in the north which are far better funded and resoureced than those in the south). There were no detailed national status data available on over 56% of species in Cyprus. Recent research has shown that fragile and unique species endemic to the island are in grave danger from development and ignorance of hunters etc.


LOL Why does it not surprise me ??????

I'm not up on my snakes but in the area near our house the big black one, very small grey one and the blunt nosed viper have all been seen over the last year. I don't know what they are but I hate snakes.... that's why we have the cats. We heard from the locals that cats keep the snakes away. As I love cats it seemed a good enough reason to over-rule my husband's objections! 

I'm going to move these messages to a new thread as I'm interested and we are straying from the subject of hamsters!


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

*Snake George*

There is a German guy who is known locally as Snake George who rescues endangered snakes and releases them back into safe areas. He also had a snake farm where he kept a small number of snakes and used them to educate people about them. Unfortunately he had to move from the place where he had this and has been unable to find another location in the Paphos area where he can get permission to open a new snake farm.
This is such a shame as he was doing so much to teach people about the local snakes and to protect them
In Kouklia there is a new "reptile park" in a locals yard but these people do not seem to know much about the snakes they have in capitivity and are using them just to make money and not doing anything to help protect them.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

I have just googled Snake George and it seems he has got a new reptile park after all. 
It is located in Tsada. :clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2:


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## BabsM (May 24, 2008)

Veronica said:


> I have just googled Snake George and it seems he has got a new reptile park after all.
> It is located in Tsada. :clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2:


Oh that's good. I had heard that he had been shut down.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

*Pine processionary caterpillars*

These innocuous looking creatures can be lethal.



> Otherwise known as thaumetopoea pityocampa or Procesionaria del Pino in Spanish, the Pine Processionary Caterpillar is one to look out for if you are ever in the Southern European/North African region in late winter, early spring.
> Despite it's cute appearance, this little caterpillar is dangerous to you and extremely dangerous to your pet.


Read More: http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Pine-Processionary-Caterpillar-of-Southern-Europe


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## BabsM (May 24, 2008)

*Processionary Caterpillar*

I saw some of these last year making their way across some waste ground near us. The line of caterpillars was strange. Presumably these aren't protected?


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## theresoon (Apr 11, 2008)

BabsM said:


> I saw some of these last year making their way across some waste ground near us. The line of caterpillars was strange. Presumably these aren't protected?


Are these what they call "Martouthkia"?


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

BabsM said:


> I saw some of these last year making their way across some waste ground near us. The line of caterpillars was strange. Presumably these aren't protected?


Definitely not protected. You see men in space suits spraying the nests to kill the little blighters.


Dina, I don't know what the local name for them is.


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## kimonas (Jul 19, 2008)

Veronica said:


> Definitely not protected. You see men in space suits spraying the nests to kill the little blighters.
> 
> 
> Dina, I don't know what the local name for them is.


Fascinating stuff - not only do they gang together to resemble a far more dangerous snake, but they can be deadly in their own right. They don't appear to be on any of the protected lists, and apparently are quite common all over Europe now, even in the north including UK (pine plantations a plenty)...I remember seeing them in Thetford forest when I was a kid, but thankfully kept a safe distance!


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