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Snake sighted at Saipan airport remains missing
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Posted on Mar 31 2005
The Division of Fish and Wildlife is still clueless as to the whereabouts of a purported brown tree snake spotted at the vicinity of Saipan International Airport nearly two weeks ago.
DFW herpetologist Nate Hawley said the search for the snake has proven futile and even experts brought in from Guam have failed to track down the elusive snake.
The snake sighting occurred when a Continental Airlines employee saw the reptile at about 1:15am Sunday, March 20, and reported it immediately to a DFW staff.
“We’ve been searching the area for almost two weeks now,” said Hawley.
In his earlier report, Hawley said that DFW responded by setting up alert notices, snake traps, and conducted visual and canine searches in the area.
The Continental Airlines employee reportedly saw the snake on the west side of the main terminal building of the airport. The witness reported the snake as being green and brown in color and about 3 feet in length.
The airport employee said she had a glimpse of the snake for about four seconds before the snake slithered under a nearby lumber pile. Several dogs joined the reptile-hunt near and around the lumber pile and confirmed that a snake might have slipped underneath the lumber.
Commonwealth Ports Authority and AIC Marianas Inc. were notified and immediately sent their staff, a forklift, and floodlights to pile the lumber properly so the dogs could search more effectively but no snake was found. The USGS Rapid Response Team, based on Guam, also helped in the search.
Hawley said that, as soon as new developments come up, he would immediately inform the public about it. He said the teams would continue searching for the snake in the next couple of weeks.
DFW director Paul Hamilton earlier said that CPA employees should be especially alert during the evening hours as CNMI ports have the highest risk for brown tree snake entry.
DFW would like to remind everyone that the CNMI has no native snake species. The public is advised to report all snake sightings immediately to the brown tree snake/Verizon hotline at 670-28-SNAKE or 670-287-6253.
