Beware of Okinawa's venomous habu snakes!

You may not believe this, but I once saw a habu beat a mongoose in a cross-species duel when I was a kid. Back then, the death match between the venomous snake found on Okinawa and surrounding islands and the predator from India, was a famous attraction at Gyokusendo Park, now known as Okinawa World.

It was mostly meant to be a one-sided match to witness the notorious serpent being defeated by the cute-looking mammal. But what I saw that day instead, was a nasty habu sink his fangs into the adorable face covered with dark brown fur.  Although I was not seated close enough to see any bleeding or yellow poison gushing out of the habu’s fangs, I could still feel an unnerving mood smothering the venue. We had witnessed something we were not expecting. It was equal to James “Buster” Douglas knocking out Mike Tyson.

I don’t know what happened to the poor mongoose. But I could not avoid imagining the mammal’s face oozing pus from its nose and eyes and staggering to stay on all fours. I had seen photos of people with their fingers and toes necrotized by habu bites.  
On that day, I learned an important lesson in my life and something blasted on AFN regularly: Don’t mess with habu!  Even if you are as dexterous as a mongoose, which maybe doesn’t matter anyway, you can still be a victim of a habu’s poisonous fangs.

Basic facts

There are eight species of snake on Okinawa, but only four pose danger to humans: 1.Habu (originated on Okinawa), 2. Himehabu, 3. Sakishimahabu, 4.Taiwanhabu. These habu are active at night, especially when it is warm and humid.

Mating among these snakes takes place between March and May, followed by egg-laying from late June through July. Two to five eggs around 2.36 inches in length are laid at a time. Baby habu hatch from late August through September. They are about 15.7 inches in length, and are already venomous.

Habu feed on small mammals such as mice and muskrats. Their fangs carry enough venom to be used several times. New fangs come out several times a year. 

If you are bit

Don’t panic 
Confirm that it is a Habu snake (not other kinds of snake) that has bit you. If it is a Habu, there should be two (sometimes one or three or four) teeth marks left on your skin.  The affected part will swell and severely hurt in a few minutes.

Ask for help
Ideally get someone to give you ride to a hospital. If you move fast, it will help the venom go deep in you system quickly. If you need to walk to a hospital, you should do it slowly.

Contact U.S. Naval Hospital at DSN 646-7555 or Tel 098-971-7555. Or you may call 119 for local fire department, which will coordinate with the Naval Hospital. 

Go to the hospital
Loosely tie the part of your body that was bitten with a soft fabric or belt that is closer to your heart than the affected area. For example, if you are bitten on the hand, you could tie a tourniquet around your arm to slow down blood circulation (Don’t tie too tightly). Loosen the tourniquet once every 15 minutes.

Learn more about habu
I recommend going to Habu Museum Park to see the different types of habu, along with valuable photos and materials. Better yet, you can touch a big snake and take a photo with it during the park’s daily snake shows. Being a part Okinawan World, this museum is actually a fun place for a family visit.   

Habu Museum Park

Hours: Every day, 9 a.m.- 6 p.m. 
Location: 1336 Maekawa Tamagusuku Nanjo city, Okinawa prefecture 901-0616(Inside of Okinawa World)
Tel: 098-948-3222
Website: www.habu-park.com/english.html

Useful tools available at local stores

Mr. Sonan, who is in charge of selling the above at Makeman, a local do-it-yourself store in American Village gives his take on protecting yourself against habu: “Even if you apply the ‘Habu Knock Neo’ spray directly on a habu, the snake can still get violent and strike back at you. Ideally, the product should be used like a repellent to drive the creature away. Whatever the case is, direct attacks on habu should be avoided. The two repellent ‘Hebiless’ and ‘Mogura Hebi Mukade Z’ are commonly used by campers to keep the snakes off their camping sites. When you use the triangle trap, make sure you set it up along a fence or a wall because that’s’ where Habu snakes crawl.”

Makeman

Hours: Every day, 9:30 a.m.- 8 p.m. 
Location: 9 Mihama, Chatan, Nakagami, Okinawa Prefecture 904-015 (Near Dragon Palace in American Village)
Tel: 098-982-7300
Website (Japanese only): www.makeman.co.jp/modules/pico/index.php?content_id=79