Yasuhiro Makishi captured an unusually large Himehabu snake (Okinawa pit viper) on a forest road in the Sosu district of Kunigami Village around 2 a.m. on May 13.

According to a professional on the field, Himehabu grows to 40 – 50 cm long, but this one was 84 cm long and thus considered really rare. Makishi found the snake on the center of the road, and captured it with snake capturing equipment that he had in his car.

The snake is 84 cm long, weighs 970 g and has 15 cm “waistline” at the thickest part of its body. Makishi is a specialist in capturing snakes for the past 30 years, and said this is the first time ever he has captured such a large size Himehabu. Tsutomu Otani, the chief of Takada Reptile Laboratory Okinawa said “Habu grows non-stop if there is plenty of food and good environment for them, but its really rare that a specimen grows this large.”

Makishi says this is the season when there is plenty of rain, and the weather gets warmer, and habus came out to roads to hunt frogs. He says that this is an especially good season for spotting them. When asked what he plans to do with his large catch, he said that intends to use it to make habu sake.

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