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Evolutionary, molecular and comparative zoology
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 53(5)

How can blind tiger snakes (Notechis scutatus) forage successfully?

Fabien Aubret A B E , Xavier Bonnet B C , David Pearson D and Richard Shine C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Animal Biology, M092, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia.

B Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, CNRS, Villiers en Bois, France.

C Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.

D Conservation and Land Management, Science Division, Woodvale Research Centre, Wanneroo, WA 6946, Australia.

E Corresponding author. Email: fab@congo.zzn.com

Australian Journal of Zoology 53(5) 283-288 https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO05035
Submitted: 22 June 2005  Accepted: 13 September 2005   Published: 11 November 2005

Abstract

On a small island off south-western Australia, tiger snakes (Notechis scutatus, Elapidae) continue to survive, feed, grow and reproduce successfully after being blinded by seagulls defending their chicks. We propose two alternative hypotheses to explain this surprising result: either vision is of trivial importance in tiger snake foraging, or the blinded snakes survive on a diet of abundant immobile prey that cannot escape their approach. Laboratory studies in which we blindfolded snakes falsified the first hypothesis: snakes that were unable to see had great difficulty in capturing mobile prey. Field data support the second hypothesis: blind snakes feed almost entirely on seagull chicks, whereas normal-sighted animals also took fast-moving prey (lizards and mice). Thus, the ability of tiger snakes on Carnac Island to survive without vision is attributable to the availability of abundant helpless prey (seagull chicks) in this insular ecosystem.


Acknowledgments

We thank the Poitou-charentes region (France), the Conseil Général des Deux-Sèvres, the University of Western Australia, and the Australian Research Council for funding. We are also very grateful to Don Bradshaw and Wally Gibb. Zoé Lechat helped with live mice provisioning. Rex Cambag provided useful comments on early versions of the manuscript. The manuscript also benefited from numerous comments from several anonymous referees.


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