Hong Kong is home to a variety of snakes – from the venomous king’s cobra to larger species such as the Burmese python
HONG KONG – Hong Kong is home to a variety of snakes – from the venomous king’s cobra to larger species such as the Burmese python. Whenever one of these reptiles is seen sneaking into a house or approaching an residential area alarmingly, Ken Lee is among the snake trappers called to capture the creatures.
But unlike the former snake traders, whose capture is often served as soup in the city’s snake shops, Lee does not sell the snakes he catches. He is part of a new breed of snake catchers who are struggling to free the reptiles back in the wild.
“There are times when people caught snakes before I got to the scene, but unfortunately some of them were killed or mortally wounded,” said Lee, 31, one of the youngest. snake catchers from Hong Kong. “Some people caught snakes with courage, but in fact they caused harm to wildlife.”
Like many other snake hunters in the city, Lee is self-taught. He started handling snakes at the age of 17, when he was working as an apprentice in a snake shop in Hong Kong. His experience led 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 wide range of equipment – sting-resistant gloves, sticks, hooks, torches and bags. Sometimes he even uses his bare hands.
In early December, he made headlines when he successfully captured a 3-meter-long (10-meter-long) Burmese python in a village in a rural part of Hong Kong. That same month, Lee was called to a tall residential building in a rural area to catch a bamboo viper – an ordinary, venomous green snake whose bite can cause a nasty swelling.
The snakes he catches are sent to the Kadoorie Farm and Botanical Garden, a local non-profit organization that houses rescued wild animals. After a health check, most of the creatures are then released back into local parks.
“I hope all these wild animals could be returned 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 many green areas that serve as different habitats for snakes, Liz Rose-Jeffreys, the conservation officer at Kadoorie Farm, believes the city’s urban development could threaten the survival of snake species.
“I think this is one of mutual respect, indeed. They are our wild neighbors, they have been here much longer than us and I think we have a duty to respect nature, ”she said. “They form an important part of our ecosystem, so if we have to remove snakes, then they would upset the balance that has been established for many years.”