By RK Shih/Staff
TAINAN — More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in recent years were found in Sinhua District (新化), an unusual concentration that local officials say still lacks a clear explanation.
Tainan sees about 6,000 snake captures a year as reptiles make their way into homes and other populated areas, according to city data. Among Taiwan’s six major venomous snake species, the most commonly captured in Tainan are cobras, many-banded kraits, brown-spotted pit vipers, and bamboo vipers.
Data from the Tainan Agriculture Bureau showed that in 2024, the city captured 5,967 snakes from 20 species. Cobras were the most numerous among the major venomous species at 1,319, followed by many-banded kraits at 522, brown-spotted pit vipers at 277, and bamboo vipers at 154. Of those 154 bamboo vipers, 84 were caught in Sinhua District. Guanmiao District (關廟) ranked a distant second with 17, while other districts recorded only single-digit totals or none at all.
From January through August last year, the city recorded 52 bamboo viper captures, including 27 in Sinhua alone, again accounting for more than half the total. Guanmiao had eight during the same period.
Chu Chien-ming (朱健明), head of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Division under the Tainan Agriculture Bureau, said earlier this week that snake capture numbers vary from year to year and that the data still need further study. He said the records do not show exactly where in each district the snakes were found or under what circumstances they were captured, making deeper analysis difficult without more detailed reporting.
An adult bamboo viper, or Trimeresurus stejnegeri, can grow to about 90 centimeters. The species is typically bright green, with a white line along the belly and a brick-red tail. In Taiwan, it is commonly found in mountainous areas, farmland, bamboo groves, and forests up to about 1,500 meters in elevation, often near ponds or ditches. The snakes are active at night and are regarded as aggressive.
Because of its wide distribution and relatively large population, the bamboo viper has become one of Taiwan’s most commonly seen venomous snakes. Even so, why Sinhua stands out so sharply in Tainan’s capture data remains unresolved.
