Light tiger python

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Light tiger python
Pratik jain dahod python.JPG

Light Tiger Python ( Python molurus )

Systematics
without rank: Toxicofera
Subordination : Snakes (serpentes)
Superfamily : Python-like (Pythonoidea)
Family : Pythons (Pythonidae)
Genre : Actual Pythons ( Python )
Type : Light tiger python
Scientific name
Python molurus
( Linnaeus , 1758)

The light tiger python ( Python molurus ) is a species of snake from the family of the pythons (Pythonidae) and is there in the genus of the actual pythons ( Python ). The distribution area includes large parts of the tropics and subtropics of South Asia . The species lives there in a wide range of forested habitats not too far from water and at least occasionally also on the edge of human settlements.

Depending on the size of the pythons, the food consists of small to medium-sized, very rarely large vertebrates, up to adolescent pig deer and adult leopards . Tiger pythons, like all species of the genus Python, lay eggs (oviparous) and belong to the species in which the females can significantly increase the incubation temperature through muscle tremors. The Tiger Python is classified by the IUCN as "endangered" ("vulnerable") due to the population threat from direct persecution and habitat destruction .

description

Mainland form of the light tiger python ( Python molurus )
Light Tiger Python of Sri Lanka ( Python molurus )

Physique and genome

In Pakistan, light tiger pythons usually reach a total length of 2.4 to 3 meters. In India, light tiger pythons grow an average of 3 meters long. This is confirmed by a study in the Indian Keoladeo National Park , where bright tiger pythons with a total length of over 1.5 meters were measured in 1990. Of the 135 individuals, the largest 25% were 2.7 to 3.3 meters long. Only two copies reached nearly 3.6 meters. Due to numerous confusions with the dark tiger python in the past, reliable information on the maximum body length for the subspecies is hardly available. A very large specimen is known from Pakistan, it measured a total of 4.6 meters and weighed 52 kilograms.

Juvenile animals are quite slim, but adult tiger pythons have a very strong body. There is a clear sexual dimorphism with regard to body length and weight : females are on average considerably larger and heavier than males. The head is massive, almost twice as long as it is wide and moderately set off from the neck. The lateral arrangement of the eyes results in a field of view of 135 °. The strong prehensile tail makes up about 12% of the total length in females and up to 14% in males. Anal spurs are much more prominent in males than in females.

The genome consists of 36 diploid chromosomes (2n = 36) with 16 macrochromosomes and 20 microchromosomes.

Scaling

Portrait of Python molurus : an upper lip shield reaches the eye

The nostrils are arranged dorsally and each surrounded by a large nasal scale. The nasals (nasal shields) are separated from each other by a pair of small but clearly recognizable internasals (intermediate nasal shields) . These are in turn bordered by rectangular prefrontalia (forehead shields). A second, much smaller pair of prefrontalia, which is often divided into several small scales, lies between the anterior prefrontalia and the very similarly shaped paired frontalia (frontal shields). Over the eyes is a large Supraoculare (via eye shield). The rostral (snout shield) has, like most other pythons, two deep labial pits . On the sides of the head, the nasal scales are followed by several Lorealia (rein shields), which vary in size and appearance. Usually there are two preocularia (fore-eye shields) and three to four postocularia (posterior eye shields). The subocularia (lower eye shields) are specific to the species. There are 11 to 13 supralabials (shields of the upper lip), the first and second of which bear deep labial pits. Of the 16 to 18 infralabialia (lower lip shields ) several anterior and posterior labial pits are indistinct. The sixth or seventh shield of the upper lip ( supralabial ) borders directly on the lower edge of the eye. In the case of the dark tiger python, the eye is separated from the supralabialia by a complete series of under-eye shields ( subocularia ).

The number of ventralia (belly shields) varies depending on the origin of the individuals between 245 and 270, the number of dorsal rows of scales in the middle of the body between 58 and 73. The number of paired subcaudalia (tail underside shields) is 57 to 83. The anal (anal shield) is undivided.

coloring

The light basic color of the tiger python becomes paler towards the flanks. 30 to 38 large, often rectangular, dark saddle spots run across the back. On the flanks, alternating with the pattern on the back, there are large dark spots that are shaped specifically for the subspecies. The light belly side is darkly speckled towards the tail. On the side of the head, a dark, tapering band runs from the eye towards the nose. A wider, black bordered band runs from the eye to the corner of the mouth. This, together with a wedge-shaped dark spot below the eye, encloses a white area. An arrowhead-shaped brown pattern with a light point in the middle runs from the nose to the eyes to the nape of the neck. The color intensity of the arrow drawing is subspecies-specific.

The basic color is whitish, light gray, yellowish or beige and often has a pink sheen in young animals. Animals from the mountain forests in West Ghats , Assam and Sri Lanka are generally drawn darker than those from the Deccan Plateau and the east coast of India. The large beige to chestnut brown saddle spots are bordered by a fine dark line. On the mainland, the saddle spots are usually roughly rectangular, while they are often irregular in shape, especially in animals from Sri Lanka. The narrow flank spots are rounded, triangular to rhombus-shaped and often have a light core. The ventral side is whitish, yellowish or slightly orange. The arrowhead-shaped brown pattern on the top of the head is often well pronounced in young animals, but in adults it is typically washed out from the tip of the nose to the eyes. In some individuals the arrow disappears almost completely and is only visible in the area of ​​the occiput. Regardless of the origin, the top of the head can also be colored pale pink. The tongue is pink.

denture

Tiger python with open mouth

The thin, elongated teeth are pointed throughout and curved towards the throat. At the front of the upper oral cavity is the intermaxillary bone with four small teeth. The upper jaw bones each have 18 to 19 teeth. Of these, the 2nd to 6th teeth are the largest and of the same length. The remaining teeth become smaller and smaller towards the tip of the mouth and the throat. Towards the middle of the upper oral cavity, the palatine bone lies parallel to the maxillary bones in front and the wing bone further back . The former has six teeth, the length of which corresponds to that of the anterior maxillary bone section. The 8 to 10 teeth on the wing bone are as long as those of the posterior upper jawbone. The lower jaws each have 16 to 19 teeth. Teeth 2 to 8 are the largest and about the same length. The remaining teeth at the tip of the mouth and the throat lose size.

Systematics

The scientific name of the light tiger python was coined in 1758 by Carl von Linné , the founder of the binary nomenclature , in his Systema Naturae . In 1820, the German naturalist Heinrich Kuhl described another giant snake, the dark tiger python , which for a long time was regarded as a subspecies of Python molurus ( Python molurus bivittatus ). The inner systematics of the tiger pythons was controversial for about 200 years. The distribution areas of the two forms certainly overlap in northeast India, Nepal, western Bhutan, southwest Bangladesh and possibly also in northwest Burma. Previous observations in India and Nepal show that, contrary to previous assumptions , the two species, when they occur sympatric , inhabit different, sometimes even the same habitats and do not mate with one another. In 2009, Jacobs and colleagues therefore suggested that the two forms should be given species status based on the two characteristic morphological differences in scaling and patterning of the top of the head. The separation into two types has now also been carried out in the Reptile Database , a scientific online database on the taxonomy of reptiles.

In 1945 a population on the island of Sri Lanka was identified by Deraniyagala as a separate subspecies called P. m. pimbura described. On the basis of the color, pattern and number of subcaudalia (underside of the tail) of a few animals, he pointed out differences to the mainland form of P. molurus . However, as early as 1949 Constable considered the differences to be insufficient. For him, they reflected an expected range of variation of individuals within a population. Since then, the tiger pythons of Sri Lanka have not been examined in more detail morphologically or genetically. Nevertheless, their subspecies status is generally no longer supported today. They are again listed as an island population of Python molurus .

Within the authentics pythons of Light and the Dark Tigerpython are after a molecular genetic study next to the Northern and Southern rock python related. This is the result of a recent molecular genetic study that includes the northern rock python and the light tiger python.

distribution

Distribution area of ​​the light tiger python (red) and the dark tiger python (green) and overlapping areas (yellow)

The distribution area of ​​the light tiger python stretches from southeast Pakistan via India and Sri Lanka to Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.

The distribution of the two species overlaps in north-east India, Nepal, west Bhutan, south-west Bangladesh and possibly also in north-west Burma. Here they live in neighboring habitats, in some places even the same.

habitat

Tiger pythons colonize a wide range of habitats, including tropical rainforest , mountain forest , cloud forest , gallery forest , mangrove forest , marshland , grassland , seasonally dry bushland to stony, sandy hill country . The prerequisite is always proximity to the water. Most of the deposits are below 200 meters above sea level.

In parts of India, where the two species coexist very closely, the light tiger python is found in dry forests and in arid , sandy areas, while the dark tiger python inhabits moist grasslands that are criss-crossed by running waters. Tiger pythons, in contrast to reticulated pythons, are largely described as refugees from culture . In the vicinity and on agricultural land, however, it repeatedly hunts rodents. In India, individuals have repeatedly been picked up in residential areas and city gardens.

Way of life

Light Tiger Python in the Indian Keoladeo National Park in front of its cave
Light tiger python swimming
Occasionally Tiger Pythons share their hiding spots and, like here, their sunbathing areas. (Bright Tiger Pythons in Keoladeo National Park, India)
Adult light tiger python resting in the branches (Keoladeo National Park, India)

behavior

Despite its huge distribution area and its abundance in some areas of the area, little is known about the behavior of this python. The tiger python is a predominantly ground-dwelling snake that moves slowly and in a straight line on the ground. As a slow, good climber, he often stays in the branches of bushes and trees in order to stalk prey well camouflaged. The animals occasionally climb to considerable heights, in South India, for example, a light tiger python with a total length of 1.5 meters was observed in a tree crown at a height of 15 meters while a flying fox was eating.

In areas with lakes, rivers and other bodies of water, the snakes lead a semi-aquatic life. They move much faster and more nimbly in water than on land. When swimming, their body is completely submerged in the water, with the exception of the tip of the snout. They often lie partially or completely submerged on the shallow bank for hours. They remain completely under water for up to half an hour without drawing air, or only the nostrils protrude above the water surface. In contrast to the water-loving reticulated python, the tiger python seems to avoid the sea.

Their preferred hiding and resting places are caves in the earth, crevices in the rock, abandoned mammal structures, termite mounds, hollow tree trunks, mangrove thickets and tall grass.

Tiger pythons are predominantly crepuscular and nocturnal. However, the daily activity is closely related to the ambient temperature. In areas with significant seasonal temperature differences, she looks for a hiding place with a more pleasant, more constant microclimate in cool and hot months. A study of light tiger pythons in the north-west Indian Keoladeo National Park showed that they prefer to move at temperatures between 20 and 30 ° C. In winter from mid-December to the end of January they only leave their hiding place during the warm lunchtime in order to sunbathe nearby for up to 6 hours. There is usually no foraging. In spring between February and March, when the microclimate in the caves is actually more favorable, Tiger Pythons are active both during the day and at night. The reason for this is the mating season. From April until summer, they show activity maxima during sunrise and dusk. You avoid the midday heat and the cool night. The increasing heat in summer leads to increased nocturnal activity. The more favorable temperature average at this time of the year reduces the ties to fixed hiding places and promotes wandering. In extreme heat, especially in combination with low humidity, the activity decreases again. Cool hiding places then gain in importance.

In northern Pakistan, northern India and northern Burma, tiger pythons fall into a cold rigor during the cool months , usually from December to February, and even longer in the southwestern part of Jammu . In doing so, they reduce their metabolism considerably. Several individuals can sometimes be found together at wintering spots under stones, piles of leaves or in tree and earth hollows.

Younger Tiger Pythons are particularly active in search of prey. There are sometimes several kilometers between the hiding place and the hunting ground. Very large Tiger Pythons seem to move less outside of the mating season. They usually settle in ideal, prey rich territory with good hiding places. There are also still considerable gaps in knowledge about the social behavior of the species. In various places in India, several bright tiger pythons share their hiding places, sometimes throughout the year. In the Keoladeo National Park, 12 individuals were found in a cave at the same time.

In the Keoladeo National Park, where there are no hollow trees, crevices or other hiding places, the light tiger python depends on the Indian porcupine's protective burrows . Amazingly, the pythons inhabit most of the caves with porcupines, although these mammals are usually prey of the tiger python. In a cave, in addition to 3 pythons, 5 Indian porcupines and 350 round-nosed bats were counted. A possible explanation for the compatible coexistence could be the narrowness of the caves, which make it impossible for the python to catch, strangle and devour.

food

Heller Tiger Python, well camouflaged in the vegetation, lurking for prey (Keoladeo National Park, India)
Light Tiger Python devours axial deer fawn (Mudumalai National Park, Nilgiris District , India)

The prey spectrum ranges from mammals and birds to cold-blooded lizards and amphibians: frogs , toads , monitor lizards , bats , flying foxes , deer piglets , civet cats and numerous rodents are eaten. He also catches water , waders and hens . The size of the prey correlates with the size of the tiger python. Of large specimens exceptionally prey up to the size of small monkeys like young gray langur , wild boar -Ferkeln, gold jackals , barking deer , Indian gazelle , half-grown pig deer and Sambar - and axis deer has -Kitzen. For example, an individual 4.5 meters in length has devoured a pig deer with 18 centimeters long horns. However, horns that are too large represent an obstacle to swallowing and harbor the risk of internal injuries. A leopard is also one of the largest and most defensively proven prey animals . An adult specimen with a head-torso length of 1.25 meters was found in the stomach of a total of 5.4 meters long tiger python.

Systematic studies on the composition of the prey spectrum have apparently not yet been published. In the study by Bhatt and Choudhury (1993) in Keoladeo National Park, birds were apparently the main food. The diet is probably adapted to the prey repertoire of the respective habitat and to annual fluctuations due to rodent migration and bird migration .

As an ambulance hunter, he prefers to hide his prey, in the branches or in the water. Once the Tiger Python has recognized a prey, it moves slowly towards it and often wiggles its tail in a species-typical manner. The victim is then packed a flash, embraced and for constrictors suffocated typical grip. If necessary, the stranglehold can be held for more than an hour. Depending on the size of the prey, the subsequent devouring can take several hours. Small prey is often digested within a week.

The digestive tract adapts to the digestive conditions. Two days after feeding, the mucous membrane of the small intestine grows up to three times as much. After about a week it will shrink back to its normal size. Up to 35% of the energy absorbed with the prey is required for the entire digestive process.

Reproduction

Young animal of the light tiger python

Very little is known about reproduction in the field either. In northern India, couples come together in a common wintering area in the cool months from December to February. Despite low temperatures and reduced metabolism, mating succeeds during this time. Courtship and copulation are also observed along the Ganges basin during the winter from late December to mid-February. In the north-west Indian Keoladeo National Park , the mating season of light tiger pythons is in the second half of the cool season, from mid-February to March. During this period there is almost no food intake. The willingness of the female to mate is signaled to the male by a brown, liquid sex attractant ( pheromone ) from the cloaca. After a period of pursuit and rapprochement, the male crawls over his partner, presses his head against her and begins to scratch her with his anal spurs. The stimulated female lifts her tail. Now the male Tiger Python can introduce one of its double-lobed, flattened hemipenisse into the female's cloaca . Copulation lasts between ten minutes and seven hours in captivity and is repeated several times over the next few days, sometimes over months. Nothing is known from nature about the interactions between males during the mating season. In captivity, male Tiger Pythons sometimes become territorial and fight commentary with rivals . If two competitors meet, they flinch at each other at first, then begin to crawl next to each other, stand up with the front third, climb up against each other and try to push the opponent to the ground. If there is no submission, there will be violent scratching with the anal spurs and finally violent biting.

In central India, gestation lasts 2 to 4 months. In the middle of the hot season around May, the female looks for an egg-laying place. This place consists of an undisturbed hiding place under a pile of branches and leaves, a hollow tree, a termite mound or an uninhabited cave. Depending on the size and condition of the female, an average of 8 to 30 eggs are laid. A record clutch of 107 eggs is known from northern India. The soft-shelled, white eggs measure 74–125 × 50–66 millimeters and weigh 140–270 grams. The eggs that stick together are surrounded and protected by the female. The loop arrangement regulates moisture and heat. In addition, the female Tiger Python is capable of trembling muscles. With this effect, it increases the temperature by up to 7.3 ° C. This allows incubation in colder regions while maintaining the optimal incubation temperature around 30.5 ° C. As a rule, the female does not eat any food or leave the nest during the incubation period.

Fresh eggshells and newly hatched young animals are found in the Indian Keoladeo National Park in late July to early August. After that, the breeding season lasts about 2 months. The newly hatched young animals that are now left to their own devices have a total length of between 40 and 60 centimeters and weigh 80 to 150 grams in most of the distribution area. Tiger pythons reach sexual maturity at around three years of age.

Age and life expectancy

Information on the average and maximum ages of individuals living in the wild is unknown. However, tiger pythons are believed to live to be more than 30 years old in nature under favorable conditions. The average age in captivity is 25 years.

Natural enemies

Apart from humans, the tiger python has many enemies, especially in its youth. These include, for example, king cobras , Indian mongooses , big cats such as tigers and leopards, bears , various owls and some birds of prey such as the black kite . The Bengal monitor ( Varanus bengalensis ) is one of the nest predators .

Endangerment and population status

The commercial exploitation of the light tiger python for the leather industry has caused a significant population decline in numerous countries in its range. In India and Bangladesh, the tiger python was still common and widespread around 1900. Excessive hunting followed for more than half a century, with up to 15,000 hides annually exported from India to Japan, Europe and the USA. In most areas this led to a massive decline in population and in many places even to complete extinction. In 1977 export was prohibited by law in India. The illegal trade continues to this day. Currently, the tiger python is rarely found in India outside of protected areas. In Bangladesh it is limited to a few areas in the southeast.

Certain tribes in India and Sri Lanka hunt the tiger python for its meat. In India and Sri Lanka, the fat is used externally to relieve bruises, sprains, fractures, rheumatism and internally against leprosy.

Extensive clearing of forests, forest fires and soil erosion are an increasing problem in tiger python habitats. The increasing urban sprawl and agricultural expansion of a constantly growing population is also increasingly restricting its living space. All of this leads to shrinking, isolation and ultimately the extermination of individual populations. Habitat loss is primarily responsible for the decline of the tiger python in Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka; there has never been any significant trade in these countries. That is why this snake had to be declared threatened in Pakistan in 1990. In Nepal, the tiger python is considered endangered and is only common in the Chitwan National Park . In Sri Lanka, its habitat is increasingly limited to the pristine jungle.

The light tiger python is listed as directly threatened in Appendix I of the Washington Convention on Endangered Species and may not be traded. The Tiger Python is classified by the IUCN as "endangered" ("vulnerable").

Tiger python and human

Behavior towards people

Tiger pythons living in the wild are usually not very aggressive. If they are disturbed, they hiss warning or crawl away and try to hide. They only defend themselves with strong, painful defensive bites when they are seriously alarmed. Only a few animals are irritable quickly and start defending themselves from the start. This is especially true for individual individuals from Sri Lanka. Tiger pythons living in the wild have been repeatedly alleged to have killed humans. Mainly unsupervised babies and young children are said to have fallen victim in the range. However, there is no reliable evidence for this.

Snake charmers in Anuradhapura (Sri Lanka) with a light tiger python and two cobras

Cultural

Even in early Indian cultures, priestesses used the calm nature of the light tiger python for the snake dance . These animals were caught young and raised in sturdy baskets in temples . Through constant contact with humans, they usually put off any bite. The numerous former Indian princely states that emerged later also kept tiger pythons at their courts as protectors of the ruling family. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, snake charmers and fakirs of India also liked to hang tiger pythons. In present-day India, snake charming is prohibited from possessing or killing this critically endangered python. The penalty is a fine and up to 6 years in prison.

Tiger pythons have long been popular animals in Europe. Ever since a royal collection of wild and dangerous animals opened in the Tower of London in 1245 , tiger pythons from India and Sri Lanka have been exhibited here again and again. In 1829 the offspring almost succeeded here. In 1842, in the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, a brooding female dark tiger python was used to study muscle tremors and the resulting increase in temperature. In the late 19th century, these imposing exotic species could not be missing in the menageries of numerous castles and parks. For a long time, these pythons were also used as an attraction in snake performances in circus and variety shows .

The tiger python is currently very popular with private owners in Europe and the USA. Also hybrids between Bright Tiger Python and Dark tiger python, Indian python and reticulated python , Indian python and python and tiger python and rock pythons are known from matings in captivity.

Legal requirements for keeping

The light tiger python is listed in Appendix A of the European Species Protection Ordinance and may not be kept without permission. In order to ensure that Tiger Pythons, as potentially dangerous wild animals , are cared for appropriately and competently and do not pose a threat to the public, many countries have also created legal requirements for keeping them.

According to the Animal Welfare Ordinance of 2008, there are minimum requirements for keeping tiger pythons in Switzerland. The cantonal veterinary office issues holding permits and carries out periodic checks on keepers.

In Germany, eight federal states have a law to prevent very large giant snakes. The keeping of Tiger Pythons there is subject to approval.

In Austria, tiger python keeping is subject to mandatory reporting according to the Animal Welfare Act of 2004 (§ 25) and the 2nd Animal Husbandry Ordinance of 2004 minimum requirements. In addition, there are state-specific security police regulations. The private keeping of the dark tiger python or both subspecies is prohibited in certain federal states. In others, licensing requirements and random to periodic controls apply in some cases.

Individual evidence

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  22. ↑ a b c d K. Bhatt, BC Choudhury: The diet activity pattern of Indian Python (Python molurus molurus Linn.) At Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan . Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society Volume 90, Issue 3, 1993, pp. 394-403.
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  30. ↑ a b W. Auffenberg: The Bengal monitor . Gainesville, University Press of Florida 1994, pp. 210, 314, 405, 478.
  31. ↑ a b c d S. Bhupathy, VS Vijayan: Status, distribution and general ecology of the Indian Python (Python molurus molurus Linn.) In Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan . Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society Volume 86, Issue 3, 1989, pp. 381-387.
  32. ↑ S. Bhupathy, MN Haque: Association of Indian Rock Python (Python molurus) with Porcupine (Hystrix indica) . In: Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society , Volume 83, Issue 2, 1986, pp. 449-450.
  33. ^ OP Dubey: A Coucal - Python Incident . Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society Volume 81, 1985, p. 711.
  34. ^ CH Pope: The giant snakes: the natural history of the boa constrictor, the anaconda, and the largest pythons, including comparative facts about other snakes and basic information on reptiles in general . Routledge and Kegan, London 1962, pp. 93, 140-147.
  35. ↑ JM Starck, K. Beese: Structural flexibility of the intestine of Burmese python in response to feeding . In: Journal of Experimental Biology , Volume 204, Issue 2, 2001, pp. 325-335.
  36. ^ J. Overgaard: The Effects of Fasting Duration on the Metabolic Response to Feeding in Python molurus: An Evaluation of the Energetic Costs Associated with Gastrointestinal Growth and Upregulation . In: Physiological and Biochemical Zoology , Volume 75, Issue 4, 2002, pp. 360-368.
  37. ^ T. Walsh, JB Murphy: Observations on the husbandry, breeding and behavior of the Indian python. In: International Zoo Yearbook , Volume 38, 2003, pp. 145-152.
  38. ↑ R. Vyas: Breeding data on captive Indian Rock Python (Python molurus molurus). In: Zoos' Print Journal , Volume 17, Issue 4, 2002, pp. 752-756 (online, pdf).
  39. ↑ DG Barker, JB Murphy, KW Smith: Social behavior in a captive group of Indian pythons, Python molurus (Serpentes, Boidae) with formation of a linear social hierarchy . In: Copeia , Vol. 3, 1979, pp. 466-471.
  40. ^ VH Hutchison, HG Dowling, A. Vinegar: Thermoregulation in a brooding female Indian python, Python molurus bivittatus. In: Science , New Series Volume 151, Issue 3711, 1966, pp. 694-696 (PDF).
  41. ^ A. Vinegar: Evolutionary implications of temperature induced anomalies of development in snake embryos . In: Herpetologica , Volume 30, Issue 1, 1974, pp. 72-74.
  42. ↑ a b c d e f H. Bellosa: Python Molurus - the tiger python . Terrarium library Natur und Tier-Verlag 2007, pp. 4–40, 81–91, 106–107. ISBN 978-3-937285-49-8 .
  43. ↑ a b S. Todd: The Sri Lankan Python (Python molurus molurus): Spotlight on a Crisis . In: The Herptile , Volume 9, Issue 3, 1984, pp. 77-85.
  44. ^ CITES - Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora: Appendices I, II and II, valid from 1 July 2008; online .
  45. ↑ Python molurus in the Red List of Endangered Species of the IUCN 2012. Posted by: Stuart, B., Nguyen, TQ, Thy, N., Grismer, L., Chan-Ard, T., Iskandar, D., Golynsky, E . & Lau, MWN, 2012. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  46. ↑ W.-E. Engelmann, FJ Obst: With a forked tongue - biology and cultural history of the snake . Herder Verlag 1981, ISBN 3-451-19393-0 , pp. 123, 169.
  47. ^ JB Murphy: Wild and ferocious reptiles in the Tower of London. In: Herpetological Review , Volume 37, Issue 1, 2006, pp. 10-13 (online: PDF ).
  48. ↑ Swiss Animal Welfare Ordinance of April 23, 2008; online, pdf .
  49. ↑ Austria: Animal Protection Act, Federal Law Gazette I No. 118/2004 as amended (Section 25) online .
  50. ↑ Austria: Animal Husbandry Ordinance, Federal Law Gazette II No. 486/2004 as amended : Minimum requirements for keeping reptiles (see 2.2.54); online, pdf .
  51. ↑ Austria: state-specific regulations for tiger python keeping:
    • Vorarlberg: Law on measures against noise disturbances and on keeping animals LGBl. No. 1/1987, 57/1994 (§ 2 Paragraphs 2 and 3), authorization requirement ;
    • Lower Austria: Section 7a of the Lower Austrian Animal Welfare Act LGBl. 4610-3 , random checks, ordinance on wild animal species whose keeping is restricted - State Law Gazette 4610 / 3-0 (Section 1), at the Boiden spp. only Python reticulatus, Python sebae and Eunectes murinus prohibited for private use;
    • Carinthia: Ordinance with which those animals are determined which are to be classified as dangerous because of the danger they pose for the physical safety of people LGBl No. 21/1991 , prohibition of over 3 meters long giant snakes for private individuals ;
    • Upper Austria: § 6 of the O.Ö. Police Criminal Law - Keeping dangerous animals online, pdf , keeping allowed, district administrative authority inspects annually;
    • Salzburg: Keeping allowed, random checks, registration form, State Security Act § 2d online, pdf , municipalities are authorized to issue a local ban on keeping animals;
    • Vienna: 1st Vienna Animal Welfare and Animal Keeping Ordinance LGBl. 22/1997 (§ 3), all reptile holdings are checked.

Web links

Commons : Tiger Python  - album with pictures, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Tiger python  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
This article was added to the list of excellent articles on October 3, 2009 in this version .