Khao Kheow Open Zoo

Burmese Python (Python bivittatus)

Information English Name / Burmese Python Science Name / Python bivittatus

Interesting :

The Burmese python is the largest subspecies of the Indian python and one of the six largest snakes in the world. Lengths of more than 15 feet are common, and they may exceed 22 feet in captivity, however the average is about 16 feet in length. Females are the larger of the two sexes and often have different coloration and a smaller head relative to the body.

Habitat :

HABITAT AND ECOLOGY The Burmese Python is mostly found in forested areas, including mangrove forests and rainforests, but is also found in grasslands, marshes, streams and rivers, including the Tonle Sap wetland in Cambodia. It is found in wet rocky areas near streams and pools, large rotting logs, large burrows, caves, crevices and old and ruined structures. It has been found inside villages, outside houses, in Cambodia (T. Neang pers. comm. August 2011). It is a good climber and an expert swimmer. It is more nocturnal than diurnal. It feeds on small to large mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, preferring to mostly feed on mammals. Breeding occurs in India between December to February after which larger females lay between 80-100 eggs in the months of March and June (Daniel 2002, Whitaker and Captain 2004). Gestation in captivity lasts four months, and eggs have an incubation period of 60 days (Reed and Rodda 2009). In common with almost all snakes, the species reproduces sexually. Exceptionally, however, a female in captivity isolated from males produced viable eggs in five consecutive years; genetic evidence confirmed that the offspring were genetically identical to the mother, making the Burmese Python the only boid snake known to exhibit parthenogenesis (Groot et al. 2003). The snake is unusually cold-tolerant for a python, including subtropical areas of China within its native range, and hibernates to survive the winter (B. Stuart and M. Auliya pers. comm. August 2011). Observations from Indonesia suggest that this species prefers more arid environments than the Reticulated Python, with which it is sympatric through most of its range. This ecological niche partitioning allows the two species to exist in syntopy, although the Burmese Python is the rarer of the two around human habitations (M. Auliya pers. comm. September 2011). Captive animals reach sexual maturity at 2-3 years of age with a regular food source (Reed and Rodda 2009), with males maturing earlier than females; generation length in the wild is unknown, but is expected to be at least as long and likely longer. The introduced subpopulation in Florida thrives in the wet habitat of the Everglades.

Food :

Their diet consists primarily of appropriately sized birds and mammals.

Behavior :

This python is an excellent swimmer and needs a permanent source of water. It can be found in grasslands, marshes, swamps, rocky foothills, woodlands, river valleys, and jungles with open clearings.

Current Status :

Curbing harvesting of this species throughout its range is needed if populations are to persist outside Thailand. The biology of the species is being extensively studied in its introduced range in southern Florida (e.g. Snow et al. 2007, Dorcas et al. 2011, Dorcas et al. 2012) due to probable negative impacts on the ecosystem and fear by the U.S. public, and more is now known about the species in its introduced range than its native range. More research is required on native populations throughout its range, including those in Indonesia, China, Viet Nam and Cambodia, particularly to establish the effects of trade on this python (Q.T. Nguyen pers. comm. August 2011). It is listed on CITES Appendix II. It is a protected species in Viet Nam, China, Thailand and Indonesia, and is known from protected areas (Q.T. Nguyen, M. Lau and M. Auliya pers. comm. September 2011). It is listed as Critically Endangered in the Vietnam Red Data Book (Dang et al. 2007) and in the Chinese national Red List (Wang and Xie 2009).