There are many deaths because of the misidentification of this snake.
The opposite; there are many reckless cases, people killing this snake because of a misperception.
These two things are unessential in life. One thing is harmful to nature, and the other thing is a dangerous thing that threatens life.
So, what are we supposed to do about it?
Exalos Indonesia is urging a good education about the basics of snake identification. Starting from the potential snake that people often encounter.
The wolf snake is one thing related to the first paragraph of this story.
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| Lycodon subcinctus |
It has a scientific name, Lycodon subcinctus, and has a physical appearance like a blue krait (a very deadly snake).
This snake is often suspected as a blue krait and killed by people in fear. In fact, this snake isn't venomous.
A clear white spot on its dark skin makes it commonly seen like a small Bungarus candidus or the blue krait.
That makes people who don't have a good skill at snake identification kill this snake.
And the sad thing is, those who don't know about blue krait but often see this snake, recklessly handle this snake with their bare hands, and are killed in action.
So, one thing certain is that the dissimilarity between the wolf snake and the blue krait is that, wolf snake doesn't have a single scale on its dorsal.
While any Bungarus sp. has a single scale on its dorsal side. And the white spot of the wolf snake will disappear when it grows up.
The wolf snake has a maximal length of 1 meter, while the blue krait can grow up to 1,8 meters.
