Meet the scientist
Reducing people’s fear of snakes in The Bahamas
We’re engaging with schools, to educate the youth about snakes and how important they are. T
The fear of snakes is a common phobia. Unfortunately, this fear has translated into a conservation threat to snakes on the islands of The Bahamas. Locals persecute the reptiles, but one man is trying to set the record straight by educating the public. That man is Sebastian Hoefer, a research assistant at the Cape Eleuthera Institute, based in The Bahamas.
Originally from Germany, Hoefer spent much of his childhood in the great outdoors, giving him ample opportunity to discover, and grow to love, all sorts of scaly critters.
After completing his studies in biology, Hoefer was offered a job at the Cape Eleuthera Institute – a research and educational facility that aims to improve our understanding of marine ecosystems and support a sustainable future for The Bahamas. Hoefer has set up a snake research programme to understand more about these reptiles, so as to inform conservation efforts.
No two days are the same for the researcher: “This makes my job really fun and challenging. Most days start with a snake survey, where
I look for dead snakes on the road on my way to the institute.” After that, Hoefer could be doing anything from teaching students to dissecting dead specimens. “It’s a great balance between field and lab work,” he says.
Hoefer has recently observed an unusual defensive behaviour in a Bahamian pygmy boa. Known as ‘cephalic autohaemorrhaging’, some snakes can exude blood from their orifices to ward off predators. “After finding the snake, we decided to document its unique defensive display in the hope of learning more about it. [Then] the snake was safely returned to where it was found,” he explains.
Hoefer and his team captured the first-ever published video footage of this behaviour in any snake species. Reflecting on observing this rare sight, he says, “Autohaemorrhaging tells us that there is still so much in nature that we don’t know about.”
Hoefer is also studying the frequency of snake roadkill on the islands. Being cold-blooded, snakes lie on the black tarmac roads to warm up, which is where they can be run over by traffic. “In the past six months of surveying a short stretch of road on the remote island of Eleuthera in The Bahamas, we’ve collected over 300 dead snakes of different species and life stages.”
Though none of the snakes found in The Bahamas are a danger to humans, fear and persecution still occur. “We’re trying to reduce snake persecution by engaging with local schools, to educate the youth about snakes and how important they are,” says Hoefer. “It feels great to be able to change people’s minds about snakes and make them realise that these animals are important to have around.”
FIND OUT MORE
Cape Eleuthera Institute ceibahamas. org; The Herpetological Bulletin: doi. org/10.33256/ hb150.3940