PIT VIPERS FROM THAILAND JUNGLE JULY/ AUG 2018

The wet Thailand jungle mirrored upside down in raindrops on a male Gumprechs Pit Viper

Nikon D5, Sigma 180 2,8, f/9,0, 1/400, ISO 2800

Once again I have been back in the Thailand jungle looking for snakes. To find other species & habitats than last time (2 years ago in Southern Thailand) we did central & central/northern Thailand spending 11 days & 11 nights continuously looking for snakes. Pretty demanding schedule, but no critical incidents this time ... except when I stepped on a wasp peppery in the dark in the thick, impervious jungle, and had a frantic escape loosing my glasses (very expensive !!), did damage to one of my cameras (very expensive !!) and had my unavoidable wasp stings (painful, ... but for free). 

The 20 pictures I present here are only pit vipers. All pictures are shot with Sigma lenses.

If I get inspired (??) I will present other snakes from the project in another post later.

A warm thank you to Ton Smits, Tan of Tontan Tours, Parinya "Aood" Pawangkhanant, Thor Håkonsen & Pål Sørensen. Incredible knowledge of reptiles and Thai nature, great organised and very, very, very nice company !!    

Female Gumprechs Pit Viper (Viridovipera gumprechi), one of the largest pit vipers of the Thailand jungle. 

Nikon D5, Sigma 180 2,8, f/4,0, 1/500, ISO 2000

Female Gumprechts Pit Viper from habitat with altitude 1500 m

Nikon D5, Sigma 180 2,8, f/4,0, 1/500, ISO 1250

Male Gumprechts Pit Viper

Nikon D5, Sigma 180 2,8, f/4,5, 1/500, ISO 450

Female Gumprechts Pit Viper shot through the a "window" in the thick bush

Nikon D5, Sigma 180 2,8, f/4,0, 1/500, ISO 900

Thailand jungle is a wet place through the monsoon rains. Female Gumprechts Pit Viper

Nikon D5, Sigma 180, 2,8, f/7,1, 1/640, ISO 3200

The Kanburi Pit Viper (Cryptelytrops kanburiensis) is endemic to Thailand and is only found in a restricted limestone district in central western Thailand, in other words : extremely rare ! 6 persons spent 2 days & 2 nights looking for it .... with no success. It was the needle in the haystack ! As we had resignedly given up the Kanburi project, one of us had to go to the bush of natural reasons. As he was sitting there in his hunched position with his trousers down around his ankles ready to give something back to the nature, he turned his head to the side... and there, only a meter away from his most vulnerable parts, was a male Kanburi Pit Viper in ambush position ! 

Santa Claus is still around !!!

Nikon D5, Sigma 180 2,8, f/14,0, 1/320, ISO 2800   

Male Kanburi Pit Viper

Nikon D5, Sigma 180 2,8, f/10,0, 1/1600, ISO 6400 

Male Large-eyed Pit Viper (Cryptelytrops macrops)

Nikon D5, Sigma 180 2,8, f/6,3, 1/500, ISO 2500 

Female Large-eyed Pit Viper (Cryptelytrops macrops)

Nikon D5, Sigma 180 2,8, f/6,3, 1/400, ISO 4500 

Female Popes Pit Viper (Popeia popeiorum), Kaeng Krachan NP

Nikon D5, Sigma 180 2,8, f/14,0, 1/500, ISO 7200 

Female Popes Pit Viper (Popeia popeiorum), Kaeng Krachan NP

Nikon D5, Sigma 180 2,8, f/6,3, 1/500, ISO 2000

Female Popes Pit Viper (Popeia popeiorum), Kaeng Krachan NP

Nikon D5, Sigma 180 2,8, f/5,6, 1/1000, ISO 4000

Male Popes Pit Viper (Popeia popeiorum), Kaeng Krachan NP

Nikon D5, Sigma 180 2,8, f/4,0, 1/500, ISO 900

Female Whitelipped Pit Viper (Cryptelytrops albolabris), Kaeng Krachan NP

Nikon D5, Sigma 180 2,8, f/6,3, 1/400, ISO 500

Female Vogels Pit Viper (Viridovipera vogeli), Khao Yai NP. 

The biggest pit viper in Thailand jungles, up to 1,3 m. 

Nikon D5, Sigma 180 2,8, f/16,0, 1/500, ISO 5000

Meet Mrs Vogel !! A big, grumpy & venomous old lady from Khao Yai NP. 

Vogels Pit Viper (Viridovipera vogeli) 

Nikon D5, Sigma 180 2,8, f/11,0, 1/640, ISO 2800

Of course a daily drama in the jungle, still but rarely seen by people : Female Whitelipped Pit Viper (Cryptelytrops albolabris) har just grabbed a frog from her ambush position in a low bush and stabbed it with her long fangs injecting venom. 

Kaeng Krachan NP. The situation was difficult to shoot with very little light.

Nikon D5, Sigma 105 2,8, f/3,5, 1/250, ISO 4000

Female Whitelipped Pit Viper. One of the long fangs into the frog is visible

Nikon D5, Sigma 105 2,8, f/5,0, 1/400, ISO 22800 (!)

Female Whitelipped Pit Viper with frog prey shot in the light from a headlamp

Nikon D5, Sigma 180 2,8, f/4,0, 1/320, ISO 2200

Female Whitelipped Pit Viper with frog prey shot in the light from a headlamp. It took a long time for the frog to die in jaws of the viper. Since frogs develop a certain degree of immunity to the snake venom, the snakes accordingly have to increase the toxicity in the venom. 

Not good for people who get bitten !!

Nikon D5, Sigma 105 2,8, f/5,6, 1/320, ISO 5600

Pål Sørensen, Thor Håkonsen, Tom Dyring, Tan of Tontan Tours, Ton Smits & Parinya Pawangkhanant. 
What a team !!!