When I realized that still I fear snakes

...and now also the sea kraits!

During the first exploration of Ilôt de Canard Eloisa run into me with something in her hand: "Look Daddy, a sea snake!" Still with jet lag, my reaction was "What the...?" Trying to remember how dangerous these snakes were, I calmed down a bit when Eloisa explained "No worries, dad, it is dead, poor snake". Then Emma getting out of the water after snorkeling the reef: "Yeah, also I spotted two sea snakes swimming away! Cool!"

Taxi boat to Ïle de Canard - closer island in the centre

My reaction? "Hugh???"

Time to see by myself. I got ready and jumped into the water, snorkeling around the small island. It is an amazing natural aquarium: everything is there, small, medium and big fishes; sea turtles, yes! sea turtles, in my first snorkeling! And... sea snakes! They were swimming over the reef, and away from me, oblivious, but there were no confusion. In our way back to the main land, I was trying to think again how dangerous were the sea snakes... something in the back of my consciousness was telling me: sea snakes are very very venomous (or poisonous?)...

That evening when drinking a beer and enjoying the view from our (rented) apartment, I read more about them: the ones with rings of black and white are the sea kraits, and the greenish ones are sea snakes. Sea kraits look like sea snakes but they are not. The difference? Sea snakes are fully marine animals, and sea kraits are amphibious: they mate and lay eggs, and do the digestion on the land, and they hunt in the sea. They breathe also. However they can be underwater for long periods of time (more here in the Wikipedia article) 

From the Wikipedia page on Sea Snakes: "Among this group are species with some of the most potent venoms of all snakes" Yikes! From the same page "Some have gentle dispositions and bite only when provoked, but others are much more aggressive" Yikes and Yikes!

What we had seen in the reef that day are Sea Kraits, or one species from the genus Laticauda. And maybe the species were yellow-lipped sea krait (Laticauda colubrina) or the New Caledonian sea krait (Laticauda saintgironsi)

Sea kraits is the New Caledonian mascot and you can spot them almost anytime you are in the beach or snorkeling in the reef. Maybe due to the reason that they spend a lot of time on land also. Literature says that kids use to play with them in the streets. I can say that I never saw a Caledonian kid playing joyfully with the sea kraits... Maybe times changed...

The sea kraits are very good swimmers, and super venomous (did I already say that?), however they are not dangerous because like almost any other animal, they are very shy of humans and run away. They eat small fishes and of course a clumsy human being swimming is not food clearly for them. If you do not bother them, they will not bother you. Ok: I was more at ease now, and the few sea kraits I spotted next time snorkeling there was no panic from my side: I enjoyed the view. They are fantastic swimmers, and their view is different than the *normal* fish view. With sea turtles both are a view that you cannot get bored seeing again and again.

Several îlots in the Noumea Bay and we planned the next trip to Amédée island with Albertina's friends. Before our trip I read that several tourists called this island the Snake Island!

My only topic for several talks with family around the table during breakfast, lunch and dinner! "Do you know the sea kraits? They are very venomous..." I stopped only after Albertina and my two daughters were exasperated, and told me to stop repeating myself "Yes, we know, and so what?"

How is the îlot? Beautiful and the trip on a sea catamaran amazing, and it does not diminished its beauty a grey and cloudy day. And yes, it is full of sea kraits... everywhere!!!

See Catamaran to Ïle Faro de Amedée

Wharf at the island

Arriving and navigating into the reef

View from the lighthouse - Noumea in the horizon

Lighthouse

Based on the sign at the end of the wharf, apparently the Sea Kraits are the yellow-lipped sea krait (Laticauda colubrina) - Very poisonous!

In the sea snake island!

And I confirmed that they are very shy, or just used to tourists every day, and they do their stuff while you do your stuff...

And then...

Fast forward 10 days, the last day in New Caledonia, swimming and snorkeling in Baie de Citron with Emma.

Baie plage des Citrons

We were going next to the reef, and in one moment I spotted a sea krait: great and fine. Just observe and enjoy the view... when the sea krait looks like swimming towards me.

• Am I wrong? Illusion optic? Ok, change course, and see what happens...
• It changed course, towards me!
• Turn 180 now! Swim backwards and make sure to keep my fins between the sea krait and myself, and
• Yes, it is swimming towards me!
• Accelerated and reached Emma's position and told her "Sea Krait! Swim back!" That afternoon that area was out limits for me...

It was clearly swimming towards me, including when I zig zag to check if it was my impression.

Why it was doing that? I do not know. maybe there were some little sea kraits babies learning to swim, and this one was a protective mummy?

Other questions keep popping in my mind, when enjoying the last sunset in New Caledonia and watching the usual swimmers going from de Citrons to Plage de l'Anse Vata, crossing the same area that I had my encounter with the sea krait...

Between Anse Vata and Citron

• How many times I swam by a sea krait, maybe a shark, a turtle, a lion fish, and didn't notice? Maybe zillions of times...
• How many times any wild creature was chasing you and you didn't notice? Every time to go into the water, of course...
• And these swimmers in the bay? they look very dedicated and professional, and they are swimming by where I had my third type encounter... I'm sure the sea krait is there swimming around them, and they do that every day... yes, I could go one more time snorkeling... maybe not...

Clearly these animals (and sharks, and turtles) do not care about us, unless you corner them, In any case, however the snakes and sea kraits still give me the creeps...