A reader, Jeremy Gatten, sent this photo (used with permission) of a green pit viper he found one night while looking for owls near Wat Tham Pha Plong near Chiang Dao in Thailand’s north. I was thinking it was. He had squatted down to rest and heard a little rustle in the brush – and found this amazing specimen of… well, pit viper. I don’t know which one it is – but, I’m guessing it’s the White Lipped Pit Viper.
Jeremy himself narrowed it down to one of two – either Trimeresurus macrops or Trimeresurus albolabris (White Lipped Pit Viper).
What do you think?
Note – do be very careful not to be bitten by any of the green pit vipers, their venom – while not usually deadly – is quite strong and can cause havoc in the human body. Vipers are typically identified (in general) by their small size (< 1 meter) and the triangle shaped head.
I found one of these just lying on a low branck of a tree in my garden, I wasn’t sure what it was but know I am. I removed it with a long fishing rod, and it didn’t do anything, just held on a let me put it back in to the scrub land next door. Very striking colours.
It’s difficult to tell from the picture alone, but from the head shape and eye color, it is more likely to be a female Pope’s pitviper.