[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 67 (Friday, May 22, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E952-E953]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   BROWN TREE SNAKES THREATEN HAWAII

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. NEIL ABERCROMBIE

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 21, 1998

  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring an article in the 
June/July 1998 National Wildlife Federation magazine to the attention 
of Congress.
  The article, entitled ``A State Without Snakes Keeps a Wary Eye Out 
for an Alien Invader,'' describes the threat that Hawaii faces from the 
brown tree snake. As explained by the article's author, the brown tree 
snake has already devastated the ecology of Guam, and it is one of the 
most frightening alien species threatening Hawaii today. If it manages 
to become established in Hawaii, the snake could decimate Hawaii's 
entire bird population, as it has already done on Guam. It is also 
known to attack babies, eat pets, and cause frequent electricity 
outages by climbing power lines.
  Numerous programs in both the public and private sectors have been 
organized to contain and control the brown tree snake population. They 
deserve our support. Hawaii has unique and endangered plant and animal 
species, many of which would be threatened if the snake succeeded in 
establishing itself in the Hawaiian Islands. It is possible, but 
unlikely, that this event may have already occurred. Because there are 
no natural predators, one pregnant snake could establish this species 
on the islands.
  As we move toward consideration of appropriations in the weeks ahead, 
I look forward to sufficient funds being approved by the House for 
brown tree snake research and eradication.

                [From National Wildlife, June/July 1998]

                           (By Anne Rillero)

    A State Without Snakes Keeps a Wary Eye Out for an Alien Invader

       Fred Kraus lifts a piece of corrugated metal, inspecting 
     the ground beneath it. ``You have to think like a snake,'' he 
     says, while considering places where a reptile might hide. In 
     the middle of a Honolulu suburb, this wooded ravine offers 
     unlimited possibilities: waist-high grass, tangled brush, 
     rodent burrows, illegally dumped trash, even clumps of 
     houseplants growing wild.
       As the alien species coordinator for Hawaii's Department of 
     Land and Natural Resources, Kraus is investigating a report 
     of a snake seen by a boy playing in these woods. The brown-
     colored snake climbed a tree until it was level with the eyes 
     of the boy, who turned and ran.
       Throughout much of the United States, such a snake sighting 
     would attract little attention. But in Hawaii--except for the 
     harmless, earthwormlike Brahminy blind snake, which was 
     introduced to the state from Asia--there are no terrestrial 
     snakes. So any sighting suggests frightening possibilities. 
     Given the Aloha State's subtropical climate and lack of 
     predators, some of the world's most venomous snakes could 
     easily become established there.
       Kraus is particularly concerned about the threat of an 
     infestation by Boiga irregularis, the brown tree snake. The 
     cause of a devastating ecological catastrophe on the island 
     of Guam, it is considered one of the most frightening alien 
     species threatening Hawaii today.
       Biologists believe the first brown tree snakes arrived in 
     Guam after World War II as stowaways on cargo ships from one 
     of their homelands: northern Australia, Indonesia, New Guinea 
     or the Solomon Islands. Free of the natural controls of their 
     native habitat and finding abundant prey for every stage of 
     their lives, the snakes multiplied at an astonishing rate. 
     Some areas of Guam are now infested with as many as 12,000 
     brown tree snakes per square mile and bird life of any kind 
     is rare on the Pacific island.
       An extraordinary climber, the snake devours eggs, 
     hatchlings and adult birds. It has decimated 9 of Guam's 12 
     native forest birds, pushing 3 species into extinction. 
     Another imperiled creature, the Marianas fruit bat, is also 
     close to extinction because of snake predation.
       ``The brown tree snake is capable of adapting to many 
     tropical areas,'' says Thomas Fritts, a biologist with the 
     U.S. Geological Survey who has been studying the species 
     since 1984. Sightings of the reptiles have been reported in 
     Okinawa, Wake Island, the Marshall Islands, Tinian, Rota, 
     Diego Garcia, Texas and Spain. Biologists believe that most 
     or all of these snakes originated on Guam.
       Known for its bulging eyes and large head, an adult brown 
     tree snake averages four to seven feet in length. It is a 
     voracious nocturnal hunter that kills by constricting its 
     prey with a mild venom injected with its back teeth. On Guam, 
     it has snatched chickens and pets from yards and has even 
     attacked babies asleep in cribs. Guam's public health records 
     indicate that 74 toddlers were treated for snake bites 
     between 1989 and 1995.
       To date, the reptile has not caused any human fatalities. 
     But it has caused other problems for people. According to 
     authorities at Guam's electric companies, the climbing snakes 
     frequently short out power lines, causing an average of one 
     electric outage every three days.
       Because the brown tree snake is light sensitive, it coils 
     into concealed hiding places by day. When it selects an 
     airplane wheel well or outgoing cargo as its hiding place, 
     the reptile can hitchhike to new habitats.
       Since 1981, seven brown tree snakes have been found in 
     Hawaii. All were captured or dead upon discovery, bit some 
     other reported snake sightings have not been resolved and 
     authorities worry whether they can effectively stop the 
     reptile from slithering in the state.

[[Page E953]]

       As home to 41 percent of all endangered birds in the 
     nation, Hawaii has a lot to lose. The state imposes fines as 
     high as $25,000 for importing or owning snakes of any type--a 
     penalty that has not stopped people from smuggling in pythons 
     and other snakes for pets. But the brown tree snake threat is 
     different.
       ``Never in history has a snake done as much ecological 
     damage as this snake,'' says Mike Pitzler, a biologist with 
     the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Guam. Pitzler leads a 
     team of federal, state, military and private individuals 
     struggling to keep snakes from leaving Guam aboard outgoing 
     flights and ships. The team maintains 1,400 snake traps in 
     airports and other targeted sites around the island. It also 
     relies on 14 Jack Russell terriers, which work in shifts 
     around the clock, sniffing aircraft and cargo for snakes 
     before departure.
       Pitzler's staff captures 3,000 to 5,000 snakes per year, 
     but he acknowledges his program's limitations. ``Our canine 
     teams are not 100 percent effective all the time,'' he says. 
     ``There are also cargo items that are difficult to inspect.''
       On the Hawaiian island of Oahu, meanwhile, five beagles put 
     their noses to work sniffing out snakes on arriving 
     commercial and military flights from Guam. For most flights, 
     one of the dogs and an inspector are waiting at the gate to 
     examine the aircraft. The pair then hurries to a nearby 
     warehouse to inspect cargo from the flight. But because of a 
     shortage of funds for the program, not all military flights 
     are inspected and that worries state authorities.
       ``Is there an acceptable risk? The answer for Hawaii is 
     no,'' says Mike Wilson, chairperson of Hawaii's Department of 
     Land and Natural Resources. ``Every brown tree snake that we 
     don't stop now will turn into tens of thousands of snakes 
     over the next 10 or 20 years.'' The species has a clutch size 
     of 4 to 12 young and females may produce more than one clutch 
     per year.
       Newly hatched snakes immediately begin to forage for food. 
     On Guam, small skinks are readily available prey for the 
     young snakes. An introduced alien initially thought to be 
     harmless, one skink species is largely responsible for the 
     population explosion of brown tree snakes on the island by 
     allowing greater numbers of the snakes to survive into 
     adulthood. ``The relationship between skinks and the brown 
     tree snake's population is an example of what happens when 
     you introduce nonnative plants and animals to a place,'' says 
     Kraus. ``You can get a synergistic effect, things that you 
     never expected.''
       If one of the reptiles should slither off into Hawaii's 
     landscape, Kraus usually oversees efforts to find the 
     reptile. ``In some habitats in Hawaii,'' he notes, ``you 
     could be standing right next to a snake and not know it.'' To 
     search for the snake that chased off the boy in the suburban 
     Honolulu ravine, Kraus brought in eight volunteers. The 
     reptile was never found, though he concluded that it was not 
     a brown tree snake because it was sighted during daylight.
       While Kraus continues his exhaustive searches, other 
     experts are pursuing new methods to eradicate the reptile. 
     But so far no such method has been found. ``We continue 
     looking for solutions,'' says Thomas Fritts. ``We're not 
     ready to give up.''

     

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