Baby habu snake found on Aguni Island

A baby habu snake was found in the office of a salt factory in Higashi, Aguni Village, on Oct. 13th. No habus are believed to live on Aguni, but a habu was found and caught last month, this being the second case.

Officials at Okinawa Prefecture Health Pharmaceutical Division say, “We can’t confirm that habu snakes live there, as we have found only one of them.” However, a habu is poisonous even as a baby, so the division officials are issuing a warning and are asking the municipal office on the island to inform them if more snakes are found.

According to Okinawa Prefecture, a worker of the salt factory found the baby habu stuck in the aluminum entrance door of the factory Friday morning.

It was taken to the Prefectural Institute of Public Health and Environmental Science for examination, where it was determined to be a female, 53.5 centimeters long weighing 29.1 grams. It was estimated to have born between the end of August and September this year. Its stomach was empty.

The factory is about 200 meters away from the spot where the first habu was found in September.

According to Okinawa Prefecture officials, a female habu becomes mature in 2 to 3 years, and lays 2 to 15 eggs each year. No eggshells were found around the site.

Okinawa Prefecture has set 30 snake traps on Aguni since September, and no snakes has been caught so far. Officials say they are planning to continue setting traps until December to check if habus indeed have invade the island.

11:18 29 Mar , 2024