80 Threars ro rhe Boelen's pyrhon (by Mark O 'Shea) Threats ro the Boelen's pyrh on (by Ma rk O 'Shea) 81

Threats to the Boelen's python (by MARK O'SHEA)

T he threars to snakes in general, and pyrh ons in particular, are many and far ranging. Run over on roads, bush-knifed in garden s, hunred for meat or skins, killed out of prejudice or because of rnisraken identiry, subjecred ro lose of habitar through road­ building, slash and burn, rnining, forestry o r orher activiries, all faeror s rhar can con­ rribute the demise of a species, eirher locally or cornpl erely. Being proteered by laws, inrernarional, nation al, provincial 0 1' local , does not always pr evenr this problem. Mainl and New G uinea (Papua New Guinea, and rhe Papua and Wes t Papua Provinces ofIndonesia) po ssesses an impressive artay of pyrhon species amounting ro 13 species, wirh add itional spe cies occurring in a rchipelagos ro north, eas r, west and sou rhwesr, M ost of these pythons are eirher lowland coastal spec ies (Antaresia rnacu­ losa, Morelia spilota, Leiopython albertisii, Liasisfitscus) or spec ies wich island-wide dis­ triburi ons (Morelia amethistinn, M .viridis, Apodora papuana). Only rhe Boelen's pyr ho n (M. boelenz) can be said tO dernonsrrare a truly montane distribution above 1000m, absenr from lowland, coastal habi tars. T his is irnporranr when consid ering rhe rhre ars ro exisren ce rhar these pyrh on s face as individuals and as a species. f ig. 82: Tap ini (Central Province, PNG) . M. O'SHEA

My exp eriences, from eighr or nine visits ro New Guinea since 1986, all relare ro the easrern halfofth e island, Papua New Guinea. I shall th erefore try to confine my com­ menra ry ro PN G alrho ug h I am aware rhar rhe Indonesian side of rhe island has a thriving wild life trade wirh large numbers of collecrors and expo rte rs su pplying th e in­ ternationa l animal trade wich specim ens. Papua Ne w G uinea is not like rhat. Papua Ne w Guinea does not permit the exploitat ion ofits native wildlife for commercial rea­ so ns, with a few exceptions suc h as cro codile ski ns and pinned butterflies th at are seen as village indusrries.

Death on th e Ro ads. Becom ing a road -kill is the way a great many pythons (and orher snakes) end th eir days. The nerwork of roads in PNG is increasing all rhe time and wh ilsr ir is still not possible ro d rive on good road s from the cap iral, Port Moresby, ro rhe provincial capi­ cal of an y of rhe neighbouring provin ces, there is an extensive road sysrem running up and down rhe coast of C enrral Province, and aseparare nerwork connecring rhe five Hi ghland provin ces ro rhe North Coasr High way th ar links Lae wirh Ma dang and Bog ia. In my time I have d riven man y of rhese roa ds, even been there as ehe roads we re Fig. 81: MARK O 'SHEA rrekking in Owen Sranleys, Tapini (Cenrral Province, PNG) in 1986. widened and tarrnac'ed, ofren removing snakes from th e coconut palm s being felied 82 Th rears ro rhe Boelen's pyrhon (by Mark O 'Shea) Th rears to rhe Boelen's pyrhon (by Mark O'Shea) 83 during rhe road-widening process. At nigh r, after rain , I have driven ehe roads out of 1996). I have seen dead pythons of rnosr mainland species on rhe roads of PNG Port Moresby and M adang on more occasions rhan I co uld coun t and caught up to (A. papuana, M. amethistina, M. spilota, M. uiridis, L. albertisii, L. hoserae) but I have rhree python species a nighr , bur rhat was then , and rhis is now, These roads pr ovid e yer ro see a Boelen's pyrho n in such a situation. very few live pyrh on s, and in truth very few dead ones eieher. Over time most of th e And I don'r expec t ro eirher, Few if any roads currently traverse Boelen's pyrho n pyth on s venturing onro th e black-rop and rem aining a litrle too long, have been run habi rats, and those rhat d o are typically wh at would best be called 'comp any roads'. over, eirher deliberately or accidemally on purpose. I have seen PMV (public rnot or T his is not really wha r chey are called but I have coined th e term for those high quali­ vehi cle) minibuses swerve across th e road in rhe outskirts of Moresby, at grear risk to ty and we il maimained roads co nstructed by ehe m ining, oil an d timber companies in rhe passengers, just to kill a carpe t pytho n. rheir geograp hical areas of inrerest, many of which are locared in Boelen's pyrho n T he settlernen ts growing up along ehe roads have also been responsible for th c country in ehe H ighlands provinces. Access to rhese roads is resniered to aurho rised dernise ofany snakes found whilsr cutring th e grass along rhe road verges, around th c vehicles and aurho rised drivers and they are reach ed only by passing rh rou gh securiry hou ses or during garden ing in rhe proliferatio n of agriculrural allo rments th at eat their gates. Thereafrer chey may stretch for m any miles th rough pr istine rainforest. M ost are way inro th e surro und ing bush. Closer examina no n of road- killed snak es th ese days, not black-top but wide gravel roads bur because rhey are subjecred to occasio nal but whether pyrh on s, brown treesnake (Boiga irrcgularis) or raipan (Oxyuranus scutellatusi heavy vehicular rraffic, th ey are re-graded on a regul ar basis and could be rhe cause of will ofren expose a ligarure around ehe sna ke's neck or a spear-wound to rhe bod y. pyrhon deaths if ir were not for compa ny imposed speed- lirnirs and regulat ions pro­ These sna kes have been killed somew he re else and rhr own onto th e road . Sornetirnes recrin g wildlife (bur I shall return to rhis later). There is a hu ge difference in quality be­ rhe dead sna kes are thrown over releph one cables in rhe same way schoolboys rhrow a rw een o il explorarion co mpa ny road s, behind chec k-po in rs, and rhe ope n-access roads rival's pair of rrainets our of reach . Large pythons are srunned and dragged onro rhe used by rhe oil palm industr y. . road ro be warched being run over, somerhing I rerm ed "T he Snake Ga me" (O'SHEA T he Conflicr berween C on servarion and Tr adition. T he Boelen's pytho n is rhe only fully proteered rept ile in Pap ua New G uinea, it is af­ forded ehe same prot ect ion as th e Birds-o f-Paradi se (Paradisaeidae), bur what does th at mean ?

Internationally it mean s rhe pyrh on cannot be expo rred from Papu a N ew G uinea, bur since this regul ation is linie different from th ose pro tecting all C IT ES protected rep­ tiles ie. other py rho ns, boas and moniror lizard s, ir does not seem to afford th e Boelen's pyth on any special sratus. Domestically ir means the Boelen's python may not be collected from th e wild, killed , or possessed in cap rivity by a non-National, someone not bo rn 0 1' naturalised as a Papu a New G uinean. This naturally applies ro any derivatives of rhe python such as irs skin, bur technically a foreigner in is in breach of rhe law if he/she is in possession of a slo ugh or, for wha rever reason, a scat from a Boelen's pyth on. T his law also applies ro othe r spec ies ro a lesser degree. The first (Wo peo ple to take PNG nation alisation following Independence in 1975 were Austra lian croco dile hunters with lucrative busi­ nesses in the Fly and Kikori River systems. Some years ago, rhere was a large pair of Boelen's pyt hons in rhe N arion al Museum live collection. The sto ry goes that the y origin ated from a foreign er's a cc emp t to smug­ Fig. 83: Road kill is nor a major rhrear for MoreLia boeLeni due ro rhe low number of roads gle them overseas. The aurho rities in Port Moresby knew of his plans ro take the in irs range (rhe phoro shows a specimen of Apodorapapuana in Morobe Province, PNG, snakes, the 'jungle drums' had informed them w eil in adva nce, and they were wai ting. dragged onro rhe road ro be run over). M. O 'SHEA At th e airport th e snakes were seized and the sm uggler ar rested , pendi ng a fine and de­ 84 Threars to rhe Boelen's pyrho n (by M ark O'Shea) T hreats ro rhe Boelen's pytho n (by Mark O 'Shea) 85

rarely (but not never) worn in batrle rhey are du sted off and patched up for eheannu­ al sing-sings when d an s co mpete wirh one ano ther for artennon. In truth reprile skins rarely seem ro be worn in rhis marine r, apart frorn moniror lizard (Varanus) or filesnake (Acrochordus arafurae) ski ns th at are used on ceremo nial kundu drums, bur I use chis as an example ro explain rhar ehe wildlife of rhe for esrs, savannas and swamps of PN G can be freely utilised by the local inh abitants, regardless of nati on al 0 1' internati on al protecrion. Ir is rheir righc and it goes back hundreds, if not rhousands, of years to a time when we were wea ring bear and wolfskin s, and painting our skin wirh wood. The pro blem is rhat a man wirh a shorgun and no skill can accomplish in seconds wha r might have taken a skilled rrad irional hunrer several days to achieve, in tirnes gone by. In the Boelen's pyrhon's favour is the facr that in some areas ir is seen as a rot ernie creature. T har means it is prot eered by the very rraditions rhat may make it fair game further down the rnouncainside. C errain rare species, seen under cerrain condicio ns, in part icular sacred places, on parri cular days, are rhernselves consid ered sacred, and rhey may not be killed or molesred. Ir may be a white wallaby near Marshall Lagoon or a Boelen's pyrhon sorn ewh ere in the Highlands, but sornetirnes discovery by man does nor auto rnatically mean desrru ction .

Poaching. I am sure wildlife poaching in Indonesian New G uinea is panially for rhe wildlife crade bur I sllspect (I do not know for sure) rhat thi s forms only a small part of any poach ­

Fig. 84: Hunters shack : local hunrers claim tha r ir is possible ro collecr as ma ny as rhree 0 1' foul' ing in PNG, and rhen prob ably only close ro th e border. Poaching for food is a dif­ specime ns in a day in a good season. Ne ar Weme na (Wes t Papu a, Ind on esia). D . VASILI EV ferent m atter however. Pych ons have long fearured in rhe di ers of Papu a New Guineans, and there is noth­ ing wro ng wirh rhat, A pyrhon brought horne by a hunrer is jusr ano ther resource for his family, provided it does not become a cornrnercial operanon supplying ciry-folks, porr arion when convicted. H owever, in those days the fines for smuggling wildlife Ir is offe n hard to find other game in New G uinea. Large indigen ous rnarnrn als, chose were piddlingly small so the authorities devised ano ther punishm em in the meantirne. large eno ugh to make a dece nt rneal, are rarely enco untered and in all my visits to Until rhe case came to co urr rhe sm uggler was forced ro stay in rhe rnost expensive ho­ PN G since 1986 I rhink I have only seen rhree wallabies (Macropus), and not one tree tel in town, at his own expense, and since rhe case took so rnerirne ro com e co court he kanga roo (Dendrofagus) in rhe wild. The largesr creature in ehe forest is acru ally a had probably paid rhe fine several tirnes over for rhe pleasure of sirring in dusry Port Aighdess bird, rhe cassowary (Casuarius), a qu arr y wirh the reputation for being able Moresby for a prolonged period. to disembowel a careless hunter with on e weil aim ed kick. Ind on esian rusa deer Nati onals (Papu a New G uineans) are permitted to capture , kill, and possess (Cervus timorensis) have been introduced to some areas and feral pigs are also a com­ Boelen's pythons juSt as they may utili se any native faun a. There is a very lon g and mon source of nutririon for rhe inhabitants but whe n it co mes to indigenou s mam ­ proud tradition of wa rriors wearing elaborate head-dresses and skirrs of Bird-of­ mals, the bandicoors (Peroryetes, a sort of marsupi al rat), and even real rats, are com ­ Paradise feathers, the fur of the cuscus (Phaumger an arbo real marsupial), the shells of mon fayre. So is it any surprise people like to eat pyth on . The peopl e of Kuru, Western various marin e molluscs and any thing else eye-ca tching that the forest or ocean can Province are more circumspect abo ut their diet than their village nam e might suggesr provide. The nllmber and diversity of rare feath ers or peltSare seen as signs ofwealth ('k uru' is also a Papu an form of BSE contracted from eating human brains). At cer tain and status, rather like an expensive suit of armo ur in Medieval Eur op e, 01' an Ar ma ni times of the year they sllbsist primarily on pyth on meat, and with seven species with­ suit worn at a bu siness meeting or conferen ce. Alth ough these ado rn mem s are now in their area it is cert ainl y bett er than the alterna tive. 86 Threars to the Boelen's pyrh on (by M ark O'Shea) Th rears [Q rhe Boelen's pyrhon (by Mark O 'Shea) 87

Fig. 85: Boeleni's pyrhon co un rry, H egigio -Moro region (Sourhern Highlands Province, PNG). The arrows show oil company insrallarions on cleared hili rops. M . O 'SHEA

Fig. 86: Morelia boeleni is somerimes enco unrered when clearing foresr for developmeur projec ts. Fig. 87= M ontane rainforesr go rge, Hegigio- M oro region (Sourhern H ighlands Province, S. CONVEy/N. BAKER PNG). M. O'SHEA Threars [Q the Boelen's python (by Ma rk O'Shea) 89 88 Threars [Q the Boeien's pyrhon (by Ma rk O 'Shea)

Fig. 88: Montane rainforest, Hegigi o River gorge (Sourhern Highlands Province, PNG). M.O'SHEA Fig. 89: Oil pipeline, H egigio-M oro region (Sourhern H ighlands Province, PN G). M. O 'SHEA 90 Threars ro rhe Boelen's pyrhon (by Mark O 'Shea) Threars ro ehe Boelen's pyrhon (by Mark O 'Shea) 91

Bur rhar is not poaching, thar is huncing and 'fair ga me'. ro m ainrain. To "crack" suc h as spe cies and breed th ern successfully is ehe Holy Grail Acc o rd ing ro Webseer's di ctionary definieion poaching "is ehe acr of h uncing for fish or for many herperoculturisrs, both private and zoo , as much for ehe kudos as ehe cash, game illegall y, or erespassing for ehe purpose of eaking fish o r game illegally" . This de­ and wirh suc h a rna rker ro feed, more pyehons will be caprured and shipped overseas. fin irion mi ghe be expa nde d ro include illegal merhcds or eaking ofgame by people not The p roblem is that wi th in creasing demand and hi gh prices comes unscrupulous pe rmirred to hunt in a specific area, "rhe king's deer" sort of ehing. pracrices such as over-collecring. As already di scussed, the populations of Boelen's Several co m pa n ies o pe raeing in Papua N ew Guinea enfo rce, or rry to enforce, stricr pyrh ons m ay be sma ller, less reproducr iveiy ac rive and m ore vulnerable rhan popula­ regularions with regards ro how rheir employees rreat ehe local inhabiranrs, rh e land­ rions of lowland py tho n species, so excessive pressures from over-collecting m ay have scape in wo rk and ehe wild life eherein. Since many of which rhey rhar dwells rhese rhe sa me effec e as over-h un ting for meat or habirar desrrucriou, ehe only differen ce be­ co m p an ies expend a greae deal of time and money making sure their workforce is weil ing rhar ch is th reat comes fro m th e very peo ple w ho claim to care about ehe species. fed , rem arka bly so from m y experiences, rhey feel ir reasonable to en fo rce a ruling rhat srares rh ar no w ild life will be hunred , kill ed or orher wise h armed by employees or co n­ In summary. tracrors wo rkingfor ehe company. A very reasonable ruling must be agreed. Yet this it Boelen's py tho n ar e probably noe exce edingly rare. Their perceived rariry is probably ruling is flaunred rep ear edl y w irheu t any apparen r retriburion. Pyrhons, including more an arrefacr o f ehe rern or eness o f th eir m ontan e d isr riburion, which srre eches vir­ Boel en's pyrhons, discovered during a d ay's work in ehe field are cap tur ed and then tu ally from one end of the Cenrral New G uinea mounrain chain, to ehe o ther, This re­ burehered ro be eaten, H aving seen ehe m ouncainous m eals avail able ro ehe workers rnoteness is weil illu strared by th e fact rh at the species was not described ro scien ce un ­ concerned in rhi s acrivi ry I wortder w here can possibly pue all, rhree co urses and chey it til 1953 w h ile rnos t of ehe other New G uinea pyehons were d escrib ed in ehe 1geh a python fo r dessen, or is rhat berween me als! cenr ur y (or have been d escribed frorn wiehin one of rhese earlier species). The firs r ex­ This is a praceise ehae sho uld cenain ly be seam ped upon by managers w ho proclaim plorer s did not even venr ur e inco ehe Highlands unril th e early 1930S, by w h ich eime a co ncern fo r ehe en vironmenr and ecology of ehei r surro und ings, especially when ie is the nonhern and so uthe rn coases had been col onised for over 100 years and repeaeed­ a w rirren rul e in eheir rerms of employmenr. ly visited since th e 16th cenr ury. A nd even more insidious is rh e poaching co order praceised by som e of ehe As ian But th ae is noe co say Boelen's pyehon s are co m m o n ei eher, po p ulaeio ns m ay co nsis e logging companies. These co m pa nies operaee in PNG bur do noe seen co look afeer of widely scarrere d individuals. The face is we sim ply do noe lmow, because so few eheir em p loyees co ehe same degree as so m e of ehe minin g co m pan ies. The resule is ehae spec imens have been see n by sciencises and ehe species has yee co be full y scud ied in ehe th e fo reign workfo rce employs local hunrers co hunc everyehing edible for ehem to eae. wild. Ir may be ehat some areas hold relaeively large po pulaeions bue ehat apparenrly Birds, mammals, repeiles , ie makes no difference, every eh ing all go inco ehe poe and eq ually su ita ble habie aes, d ose by, are de void of any pyehons. Ir also see ms reasonabl e soon entire areas become devoid o f w ild life. There are no co ncro ls, no regulaeions, no ehae ba sed on ehe coo l cond ieio ns prevailing in ehe m ounrains, ehe pyehons m ay grow proeection for wildlife wiehin eheir sp here of influen ce . co macuriey more slow ly ehan coastal species, and reproduce less frequenrly. The end resule of ehis would be th ae ehe loss ofad ule pyehons, o r loss o f a clue ch o f eggs, o r 10ss Collection for ehe Exotic Reptile Trade. or severe aleeratio n of habieae, m ay have a serious effece o n ehe sur vival o f ehe popula­ already seaeed, PNG does not p ermie ehe expon of its wild life for co m me rc ial pur­ As tion loc all y, and co nr ribuee co a n overa ll dedine. This is o ne reaso n w hy co mpan ies po ses, with a few excep eio ns which do noe include pythons. However, th e reverse is planning co expl oie lar ge areas in ehe Highlands, cue the cops o f hills co eseablish oil true of Indonesia and ehere is a ehrivin g ca p eive repeile erade emanacing from W est platforms, clear-fell hill sides fo r eimber, or drive ro ad s ehrough pri seine rainforese, Papua, as we il as o eher islands in ehe archipelago , w h ich feeds ehe de sire of privaee should ca rry out En vironmencal Impace Assessmen t surveys in advance in order co de­ keepers and zoos across th e rese of ehe world co keep sp ecies like the Boelen's python. termine ehe impace ehei r o peraeio ns ma y luve on ehe narive fauna and especially large, Bryan C hrisey (2008) sum m ed ie up as " Bigge r, M ean er, Rarer, H oe" w he re ehe vulnera ble, unique a nd emotive species like ehe Birds-of-Paradise, eree kangaroos, Boel en's pyehon would definieely qualif)r in the " Rarer" caeego ry. These snakes co m ­ Boelen's pyehon and Salvador's m onicor lizard (Varanus salvadol'l). m and premium prices, offen despiee eheir poor co nd ieion and seaee o f healeh, many of And ed uc atio n of workers, villagers, and o ehe r persons likely co enc o u nre r ehese th ose reachi ng cap civiey dyin g soo n afeer purchase and all b ue a sele ct few flady re fus­ liede kn own sp ecies, is also an imponanc aim if ehey are CO be co nserve d for fucure ge n­ ing CO reproduce in ca p eiviey. Bu e th e markee does no t get any smaller becau se of ehese era eio ns co know and enjoy. losses, in fac e ie increases den1and when ehe spec ies is hard co o btai n and eve n harder