Increased snake sightings in Baguio due to higher temperatures – City Vet

Even snakes are “feeling the heat” caused by the ongoing El Nino phenomenon.

City Veterinary and Agriculture Office (CVAO) head Dr. Silardo Bested said the recent increase in sightings of snakes at various locations in the Summer Capital is caused by a warmer climate due to prevailing higher temperatures.      

A website describes snakes as elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles  of the suborder ‘Serpentes’ and covered in overlapping scales with some species being poisonous and others not.

In a media forum at City Hall, May 8, he said snakes, just like other animals, are migratory creatures who  ‘travel’ when the weather is warm to where the climate is cooler like in elevated places and those with forest areas like in Baguio city.

Climate change, availability of food source, and mating season are among the factors that cause migration, Bested disclosed.

Despite this, he said that no snake bites have been reported in this highland city so far as he reminded the public not to kill the snakes if sighted but to instead immediately report to the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Killing the snake would be justified if a person’s life is in danger, he stressed.

He advised those bitten by a snake to immediately go to an animal bite center or hospital for an anti-venom vaccine shot.

A resolution was recently adopted by the city council requesting the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC) to have an ample supply of anti-venom vaccines for snake-bite incidents. – Gaby B. Keith