There Are Also Various Species Of The Genus `Dendrophis',
As The `Bucephalus Viridis', Or Green Tree-Climber.
They climb trees
in search of birds and eggs, and are soon discovered by
all the birds in the
Neighborhood collecting and sounding an alarm.*
Their fangs are formed not so much for injecting poison on external objects
as for keeping in any animal or bird of which they have got hold.
In the case of the `Dasypeltis inornatus' (Smith), the teeth are small,
and favorable for the passage of thin-shelled eggs without breaking.
The egg is taken in unbroken till it is within the gullet,
or about two inches behind the head. The gular teeth placed there
break the shell without spilling the contents, as would be the case
if the front teeth were large. The shell is then ejected.
Others appear to be harmless, and even edible. Of the latter sort
is the large python, metse pallah, or tari. The largest specimens of this
are about 15 or 20 feet in length. They are perfectly harmless, and live on
small animals, chiefly the rodentia; occasionally the steinbuck and pallah
fall victims, and are sucked into its comparatively small mouth
in boa-constrictor fashion. One we shot was 11 feet 10 inches long,
and as thick as a man's leg. When shot through the spine,
it was capable of lifting itself up about five feet high,
and opened its mouth in a threatening manner, but the poor thing
was more inclined to crawl away.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 231 of 1070
Words from 66473 to 66725
of 306638
