HONG KONG (AP) – Hong Kong is home to a wide variety of snakes, from the true snake to larger species such as the Burmese python. Whenever one of these reptiles is seen sliding into a house or approaching an residential area alarmingly, Ken Lee is among the snake catchers called upon to capture the creatures.
But unlike the commercial snake catchers of yesteryear, whose catches are often served as soup in the city’s snake shops, Lee doesn’t sell the snakes he catches. It is part of a new breed of snake catchers that strive to free reptiles in the wild.
“There are times when people have caught snakes before I got to the site, but unfortunately some of them died or were mortally wounded,” said Lee, 31, who is one of the most snake catchers. young people from Hong Kong. “Some people caught snakes bravely, but they actually caused damage to wildlife.”
Like many other snake catchers in the city, Lee is self-taught. He started handling snakes at the age of 17, when he was working as an apprentice on a Hong Kong snake. His experience spurred him to learn more about biodiversity and biology, and he eventually went on to study at a university in Taiwan.
When Lee catches snakes, he uses a lot of equipment: gloves, sticks, hooks, torch, and puncture-proof bags. Sometimes he even uses his bare hands.
In early December he reached the headlines when he successfully captured a 3-meter-long (10-foot-long) Burmese python in a village in a rural area of Hong Kong. The same month, Lee was also called to a high-rise residential building in a rural area to catch a bamboo viper: a common, poisonous green snake whose bite can cause a nasty wave.
The snakes he catches are sent to the Kadoorie Farm and Botanical Garden, a local non-profit organization that protects rescued wild animals. After a health check, most of the creatures are released back into local parks.
“I hope all these wild animals can go back to nature,” Lee said.
He currently works as a research assistant at four universities in the city and volunteers at the Hong Kong Society of Herpetology Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the study of reptiles and amphibians.
Although Hong Kong has large green areas that serve as habitats other than snakes, Liz Rose-Jeffreys, head of conservation at Kadoorie Farm, believes the city’s urban development may threaten the survival of snake species.
“I think this is about mutual respect, really. They are our wild neighbors, they have been here much longer than us and I think we have a duty to respect nature, ”he said. “They form an important part of our ecosystem, so if we were to eliminate snakes, it would upset the balance that has been established for many years.”