Seychelles might not be the very best destination there is for herping if one excludes the remarkable exceptions of the giant tortoise and sea turtles. However, the archipelago does host some interesting reptiles, many of them being endemic, like the one I want to highlight here. One of the two endemic snakes of the Seychelles,Lycognathophis seychellensis, also known as the Seychelles wolf snake is a very discreet member of the Colubridae family. Slender and gracile, it can reaches up to one meter long.
We were fortunate to spot two specimens of this lovely reptile while ascending the Trois Frères moutain. One was up in the tree while the other (last picture) was gliding on leaf litter. In both cases, they were hardly discernable from their environment. Luckily, our excellent guide Basile noticed the creatures easily.
Sadly, the wolf snake is classified as 'endangered' (EN) in the IUCN red list of species which means that it faces high risk of extinction in the wild. It seems it is not that hard to observe it in situ though provided one inspects the right habitat. Although I am fairly disappointed with the photographs I took of this elegant snake (the two specimens below were not really cooperative), I am happy to be able to document this endemic animal here on my blog. Herping field reports will certainly keep on forming a nice part of these garden's chronicles. ;-)
