The Mountain Water snake - Sinonatrix percarinata
These lovely water snakes can reach almost a meter in length. Often found near mountain streams with ponds and waterfalls, and usually nocturnal. This one was in Kadoorie Farm, and unfortunately deceased, hence the slightly arranged/strange pose with the mouth open. On this point, i often find dead snakes, or rather I should say "killed" snakes; heads bashed in with rocks, or deliberately trampled. This is simply ignorance, and the more we can teach others - and in particularly children - not to be scared of these lovely creatures, and be more in tune with their environment, then the better for everyone - snakes too. If this was another animal, with fur, this would be bigger news, with outcrys of torture and cruelty (for example feral dogs). But, hey, its just a snake.....
Juveniles have much brighter colouring, as seen in the image below. This one was alive and well, and very cute.
For more information about snakes, please see our sister snake website about all things snakey in Hong Kong . www.hongkongsnakeid.com .