A dozen seawater snake species are to be found in our waters.They are perfectly adapted to their water environment due to their oar-like tails; they can stay underwater for twenty minutes when hunting prey and for up to 50 minutes when resting.
They carefully search for food in crevasses and burrows, touching the earth with the sensitive outer extremities of their tongue, looking for small fish which they capture by holding the prey for a few minutes until the creature becomes paralised. Then they swallow it always starting by the head first.
In New Caledonia, the tricot rayé (striped seasnake) is the most common species.
The laticauda species
There are two types of "tricot rayé", so-called because of the ring-like pattern on their skin which alternates between light and dark areas.
The first is charactised by black rings on orange (laticauda colubrine), the second by black rings on blue (laticauda laticaudata).
They are the only ones to be amphibious. They live on islets, nestled under rocks amongst portulaca branches, and come up onto land to digest, reproduce, or lay their eggs.
It is not unusual to see them on beaches, or further afield, but they do not attack. Thus, in Marguerite Bastogi's 1979 book, "Soleil du Pacifique" she wrote: "The black and gold snake loves swimming in the blue waters of the lagoon".
They have two fangs in front of the mouth and can bite any part of the body. They inject a few milligrammes of a venim much more powerful than that of a cobra into the body of their prey.
Despite this, their reputation is good. Due to the snake's timid nature, the tricot rayé is not aggressive and never attacks humans in normal circumstances, to such an extent that children can often be seen playing with them on the beach.
Because of its shyness, the danger the snake represents for humans is therefore practically nil as long as the animal is not baited. The best thing to do is to leave these snakes to live their life and not give them a second thought. Leave them alone if you come across them on the islets.
Le tricot rayé in the shops
This snake is today famous due to the clothes and accessory shops which use its name as a brand.
You can also buy Tricots Rayés made of material which you can use as a doorstopper or made out of wood to decorate a window.
Bibliography
| « Plonger en Nouvelle-Calédonie » | Editions Savannah (Pierre LARUE) |
|---|---|
| « Croisière en Nouvelle-Calédonie » | Editions Savannah (J. MARC, M. RAMBEAU et R. BLACK) |
| « 40 ans de poésie néo-calédonienne » | Editions Club des amis de la poésie |
| « Contes de Nouvelle-Calédonie » | Editions Nathan |