I was looking for examples of ball python racks, when I came across this very cool study done in 1997. I am sure most of you have seen it, but it was a new read for me, and I'd like to point out pieces I found interesting.....
If you haven't read it, do! It's really neat and very interesting to see some wild Ball Python statistics. It's a pdf file and here is the link:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/environmen...thon_ghana.pdf
Anyways one thing I found really neat was the sizes they recorded for some females they found. Out of 200 or so pythons in the study, 48.3% of them were larger than the maximum qouted size (49 inches) in the CITIES identification manual. One female they found was actually 78 inches long!
Another thing (totally unrelated to above) was a comment in the report about the Ball Pythons "balling" behaviour....apparently the trappers they talked to believe this was a tactic of young Balls to avoid being swallowed. I personally think it's to protect the head, but I found the trappers thoughts on it neat as well.
They discussed the local attitude towards Balls as well, and in some places had to get permission from tribe leaders to study Balls on their land. In two specific places Ball Pythons are reguarded as gods, and one tribe even has a Ball Python "farm" and release offspring in hopes they will protect their grain from rodents. Worshippers of the Balls have gone as far as putting up roadblocks and stopping drivers to ask them to drive with more care to avoid running over Ball Pythons crossing the road. If tehy do find Ball Python road kill, or a corpse, they cover the body with leaves or otherwise honor it. Meanwhile in other areas, ALL snakes are killed on site, and in still more areas, they aren't worshipped or killed, but ignored as the locals know they are harmless.
There were so many interesting parts in this study, I read it right through every word. Very neat information about the population, if its sustainable, and interesting findings in different sex ratios, clutch weights, lengths, etc.
Just thought I would share!
Marisa
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