Malayan kraits (Bungarus candidus) show affinity to anthropogenic structures in a human dominated landscape.

Animal movement can impact human-wildlife conflict by influencing encounter and detection rates. We assess the movement and space use of the highly venomous and medically important Malayan krait (Bungarus candidus) on a suburban university campus. We radio-tracked 14 kraits for an average of 114 days (min: 19, max: 218), during which we located individuals an average of 106 times (min: 21, max: 229) each. Most individuals displayed some level of attraction to buildings (n = 10) and natural areas (n = 12); we identified a similar unambiguous pattern of attraction to buildings and natural areas at the population level (of our sample). Snakes remained in shelter sites for long durations (max: 94 days) and revisited sites on average every 15.45 days. Over 50% of locations were within human settlements and 37.1% were associated with buildings. We found generally seasonal patterns of activity, with higher activity in wet seasons, and lower activity in the hot season. These results show frequent proximity between Malayan kraits and humans at the university; thereby, suggesting a near constant potential for human-wildlife conflict. Despite the fact that no snakebites from this species occurred at the university during our study period, substantial education and awareness training should be considered to ensure continued coexistence on campus.

Promoting co-existence between humans and venomous snakes through increasing the herpetological knowledge base.

Snakebite incidence at least partly depends on the biology of the snakes involved. However, studies of snake biology have been largely neglected in favour of anthropic factors, with the exception of taxonomy, which has been recognised for some decades to affect the design of antivenoms. Despite this, within-species venom variation and the unpredictability of the correlation with antivenom cross-reactivity has continued to be problematic. Meanwhile, other aspects of snake biology, including behaviour, spatial ecology and activity patterns, distribution, and population demography, which can contribute to snakebite mitigation and prevention, remain underfunded and understudied. Here, we review the literature relevant to these aspects of snakebite and illustrate how demographic, spatial, and behavioural studies can improve our understanding of why snakebites occur and provide evidence for prevention strategies. We identify the large gaps that remain to be filled and urge that, in the future, data and relevant metadata be shared openly via public data repositories so that studies can be properly replicated and data used in future meta-analyses.

No room to roam: King Cobras reduce movement in agriculture.

BACKGROUND: Studying animal movement provides insights into how animals react to land-use changes. As agriculture expands, we can use animal movement to examine how animals change their behaviour in response. Recent reviews show a tendency for mammalian species to reduce movements in response to increased human landscape modification, but reptile movements have not been as extensively studied. METHODS: We examined movements of a large reptilian predator, the King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah), in Northeast Thailand. We used a consistent regime of radio telemetry tracking to document movements across protected forest and adjacent agricultural areas. Using dynamic Brownian Bridge Movement Model derived motion variance, Integrated Step-Selection Functions, and metrics of site reuse, we examined how King Cobra movements changed in agricultural areas. RESULTS: Motion variance values indicated that King Cobra movements increased in forested areas and tended to decrease in agricultural areas. Our Integrated Step-Selection Functions revealed that when moving in agricultural areas King Cobras restricted their movements to remain within vegetated semi-natural areas, often located along the banks of irrigation canals. Site reuse metrics of residency time and number of revisits appeared unaffected by distance to landscape features (forests, semi-natural areas, settlements, water bodies, and roads). Neither motion variance nor reuse metrics were consistently affected by the presence of threatening landscape features (e.g. roads, human settlements), suggesting that King Cobras will remain in close proximity to threats, provided habitat patches are available. CONCLUSIONS: Although King Cobras displayed individual heterogeneity in their response to agricultural landscapes, the overall trend suggested reduced movements when faced with fragmented habitat patches embedded in an otherwise inhospitable land-use matrix. Movement reductions are consistent with findings for mammals and forest specialist species.