A small Lancehead (Fer De Lance) I came across on a trail as I set off on a long solo hike in the Peruvian Amazon a couple of years ago. These snakes can be anywhere and everywhere, from the ground to trees, and quite easy to miss.
Peru, 2023
A young Fer De Lance in Peru. These snakes can appear anywhere and everywhere, so watching every step and hand fall is a must. I’m always happy to see one though.
I was on a night hike in the Amazon and just about to step over this knee-high buttress when I noticed it was occupied. A young Fer De Lance (Bothrops atrox) was waiting on top, but I was not the rodent it was hoping to come along. The broken green and black shapes in its pattern would have made this easy to miss.
A Fer De Lance found resting in the center of the trail a short distance from camp in the Peruvian Amazon earlier in the year. The color and chaotic pattern of this snake would make it easy to miss, which could be a fatal mistake in the remote location we were at.
A Western Diamondback Rattlesnake on a hot night time survey of a county park. Thermal cameras show snakes selecting the coolest surfaces in the area to rest in and against – there is possibly more to this, which we are looking into.
A tiny Two-Striped Forest Pitviper (Bothrops bilineatus) from Loreto, Peru. This was the first I’d ever seen and it didn’t disappoint. Just a beautiful little green snake with a hint of blue.
Only a half mile from camp into a night hike in the Peruvian Amazon, I saw this Fer-de-lance moving to an elevated position on a meter-high buttress … right in the middle of the trail. These snakes can be anywhere at any time.
