What to do when you encounter a snake while hiking

WITH more Malaysians taking up hiking as a recreational sport, encounters with wild animals will become more commonplace. Therefore, I ask this of all hikers, what is the right thing to do when one has a chance meeting with, say, a snake along a jungle trail?

There have been many incidents at Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur, when hikers and walkers came across snakes along the trail which, unfortunately, ended up in the snakes being beaten to death.

Recently, while hiking up Bukit Kiara, I came across a hiker trying to harm a snake. I begged the individual to let the snake go and after some persuasion he relented and stopped hitting the snake, which then slithered away into the bushes.

In another incident, a python in the secondary jungle of Bukit Kiara strayed into “open” territory. The security guard on duty, instead of shooing away the snake, chose to catch the python and put it in a gunny sack. While one group of hikers pleaded with him to release the python, there were others who felt that the python, if released, would pose a danger or even harm others.

In such situations, what would have been the right thing to do?

In my opinion, the security guard should NOT have caught the poor, frightened python. After all, the jungle is their home and we, in fact, are the intruders.

So what happens when hikers come across a live snake crossing their path? Yes, the hikers will get the fright of their lives but animal experts opine that we should not panic or turn hysterical (easier said than done, I know). The truth of the matter is that the snake will be equally if not more afraid of us humans than we are of it.

The natural thing to do is to walk away from the snake (make a U turn); when the snake perceives that we are no longer a threat, it will take the chance to escape harmlessly, disappearing into the jungle.

If it looks like it is moving towards you (God forbid – it rarely happens), stamp your foot on the ground to create vibrations. This should be good enough to scare it and drive it away.

So why can’t we leave reptiles alone, as the majority of snakes are non-venomous (read: harmless). Under no circumstances should we provoke or take action to harm any reptiles we might encounter.

We should give due respect to the animals in the jungle and we humans should steer clear of them. Please leave them alone, the jungle is their territory.

POLA SINGH

Co-founder, Friends of Bukit Kiara

Kuala Lumpur