Italian festival of snake-catchers revealed in colored pictures

Every year on 1 May, San Domenico di Sara gets some wonderful tools of strange. During a religious process in Italian village in Italian, a statue of Santos is decorated with harmless snakes (above). Its origin SERPARI FESTIVALor festival of snake-catchers, can reconcile centuries.

Giantpoolo Monninaro, a biologist at the University of Bari Aldo Moro, Italy, eager to study at serpentBut he took the years to convince the villagers that a long research project could help, instead of harm, the reptiles. Legal, the Mitik Local snakes can only get, such as green whip snakes (Hierophis Viridiflavus) and four boiled snakes (Hentil Quatslininiatashown above and below), in weeks to procession. Shortly thereafter, the animals were released (described below) in the exact place where they found, leaving little time for Montinaro and his team to study them.

Before each procession, researchers have changed the local museum in a pop-up clinic in the pop-up serpent. They measure length and weight to each animal, take swabs and blood samples, and implant to microchips to determine repeat visitors. They also treated wounds and removes parasites from bodies and mouths of snakes (described above).

Nearly 20 years of data value indicates snakes developing, with no indication of a dangerous fungal disease showing other European populations. We can also benefit. “The snakes took germs on the ground,” Montinaro said. “It helps us to look for the novel pathogens that can affect people.”