Golden Tree Snake (Chrysopelea ornata)
Image Copyright Lindsay Seggie
Observed: November 2018
Observed By: Lindsay Seggie, Tijl Adriaen, Laszlo Halsz, Perry Stevens, Robert Poser
The Golden Tree Snake isn’t golden. Who names these animals? Instead it has a characteristic black and green mottled colouration. In fact in certain other habitats it apparently has some orange markings as well – but not here on Koh Chang where it is one of the most commonly sighted snakes.
Oh, and it can fly! Well that’s not strictly true but it able to leap from trees and glide in a controlled fashion. That would be a thing to see. They flatten their bodies when gliding and form a U-shape on their underside which traps air and acts as a parachute.
The snake isn’t particularly large with a maximum lenth of 130 centimetres. And yes, it is poisonous, but only very mildly, and they are not considered a danger to humans.
Image Copyright Lyle Martinez
Image Copyright Tijl Adriaen
Image Copyright Tijl Adriaen
Image Copyrigh Perry Stevens
Image Copyright Perry Stevens
Image Copyright Tijl Adriaen
Image Copyright Laszlo Halasz
Image Copyright Laszlo Halasz
Image Copyright Laszlo Halasz
Image Copyright Laszlo Halasz
