Conservation Bioprospecting: A New Approach to Conserve the

World’s Longest Snake, Python reticulatus Schneider, 1801

Sulaiman Ginting

1,2

, Hadi S. Alikodra

, Delvian

and Erni Jumilawaty

Master Program of Natural Resources and Environment Management, Postgraduate School, Universitas Sumatera Utara,

Medan, Indonesia

Department of Agro-ecotechnology, Islamic University of North Sumatera, Indonesia

Department of Forest Conservation and Ecotourism, Bogor Agricultural Institute, Indonesia

Faculty of Forestry, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan, Indonesia

Faculty of Math and Science, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan, Indonesia

Keywords: Bioprospecting, Conservation, P. reticulatus, Bio-rodenticide.

Abstract: The heavily wild caught of the world’s longest snake, Python reticulatus for global leather industry caused

significant threat to the sustainable population of the snake in Indonesia. The reticulated python is also

known as definitive host of parasitic protozoan S. singaporensis, a biological control agent against rats. The

aim of this study was to develop a new concept on conservation bioprospecting for the reticulated python.

We collected and analyzed series of biological parameters of P. reticulatus including their reproduction and

capacity in producing S. singaporensis from commercial captivity firm in North Sumatera. The results

revealed that the reticulated python could live and reproduce well in captivity. Furthermore, the captive bred

pythons produce high numbers of S. singaporensis that can be used for commercial bio-rodenticide. It is

suggested that bioprospecting approach can give an incentive that significantly contribute to the sustainable

conservation program of the threatened reticulated pythons.

1 INTRODUCTION

The wild harvest of the world’s longest snake

Python reticulatus has been ongoing for more than

eight decades in Indonesia to fulfill the demand from

global leather industries. Concerns have been raised

about the sustainable population of the python in the

country due to continuous of the wild harvest

(Kasterine et al., 2012). The reticulated python is

also known as the definitive host for parasitic

protozoan, Sarcocystis singaporensis which is

known as biological control agent against rats (Jakel

et al., 1999). The use of captive bred reticulated

pythons in producing the bio-rodenticide is in line

with ex situ conservation of the pythons. The aim

of this study was to develop a new concept on P.

reticulatus conservation strategy with emphasize on

bioprospecting approach through bio-rodenticide

production.

2 MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study was conducted at commercial captivity

firm of P. reticulatus in North Sumatera form

October 2015 to June 2017. To achieve the aim of

this study we conducted series of experiments i.e.

(1) Reproduction of P. reticulatus in captivity, (2)

Production capacity of P. reticulatus in producing

bio- rodenticide.

2.1 Reproduction of P. reticulatus in

Captivity

2.1.1 Effect of Body Size on Fecundity

Thirty females of reticulated python were obtained

randomly from data bank developed by the

commercial captivity firm where this study was

conducted. The method on body size measurement

of the retics was done as described by Shine et al.

(1999). Numbers of eggs produced by every

individual snake were gained from data bank and

408

Ginting, S., S. Alikodra, H., Delvian, . and Jumilawaty, E.

Conservation Bioprospecting: A New Approach to Conserve the World’s Longest Snake, Python reticulatus Schneider, 1801.

DOI: 10.5220/0009903800002480

In Proceedings of the International Conference on Natural Resources and Sustainable Development (ICNRSD 2018), pages 408-411

ISBN: 978-989-758-543-2

analyzed to investigate the effect of body size of the

reticulated pythons to their fecundity.

2.1.2 Incubation and Fertility

We evaluated two incubation methods to investigate

the fertility of eggs produced from captive bred

pythons. Forty seven egg clutches were used as

sample in this study. Thirteen clutches out of the 47

egg clutches were incubated by using females of the

pythons, while the other 34 egg clutches were

incubated by using modified incubator as suggested

by Maxwell (2005). Numbers of hatchling eggs were

recorded and analysed.

2.2 Production Capacity of P.

reticulatus in Producing

Bio-rodenticide

Numbers of pythons with minimum size of 150 cm

were selected and pooled in three groups, i.e. Small

(150-250 cm), Medium (250-350 cm) and Big (>

350 cm). Each group consisted of ten pythons. All

pythons were infected artificially with S.

singaporensis for mass production purpose. All the

parasite produced by the pythons were collected and

counted to be mixed with bait. Number of parasite

used for each bait was 200.000 sporocyst. Methods

on bio-rodenticide production i.e. artificial infection,

fecal cleaning, parasite purification and other

laboratory works were carried out as suggested by

Ginting dan Jakel (2005).

3 RESULT AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Reproduction of P. reticulatus in

Captivity

3.1.1 Effect of Body Size on Fecundity

Figure 1 shows number of eggs produced by P.

reticulatus with various body sizes start from 260 -

580 cm. The lowest number of eggs produced was

occurred from the smallest python (260 cm) with 17

eggs. While the highest number of eggs was

produced by the python with size of 550 cm with 66

eggs.

There is a consistent trend that the number of

eggs produced is increasing with the increasing of

body size. It is because the young eggs need more

space to develop inside the body of pythons (Shine,

et.al., 1999). The bigger the pythons the more eggs

produced. Hence it is suggested to use big pyhtons

for breeding program in order to get high number of

neonates.

3.1.2 Incubation and Fertility

The hatchling rates of P. reticulatus eggs after

incubated by the females and incubator are shown in

Table 1. It revealed that eggs produced by the

captive bred pythons were in good condition and

fertile, indicating that the pythons live well in

captivity. Hatchling rates of the eggs both by the

females and incubator were relatively high (> 85%).

Figure 1: Number of eggs produced by various body sizes of reticulated pythons in captivity.

y = 0,1526x - 17,055

R² = 0,8749

200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600 650

Body size (cm) (cm)

No. of eggs Body size

Conservation Bioprospecting: A New Approach to Conserve the World’s Longest Snake, Python reticulatus Schneider, 1801

409

Table 1: Hatchling rate (%) of P. reticulatus eggs after incubated by the females and incubator.

N Hatchlin

rate

(

)

Min-Max

(

)

P. reticulatus 13 93,6 81,5

–

100

Incubator 34 85,1 82,5

–

98,8



Most of python species (Pythonidae) produce

eggs in every two years in nature because of their

long incubation period which takes about 3 months.

In response to that, Maxwell (2005) successfully

demonstrated the use of incubator in breeding

program of the green tree python Morellia viridis in

captivity. The use of incubator allows the females to

produce eggs annually in captivity. Therefore, the

use of incubator also can be considered as one of

components in producing high number of pythons in

captivity.

3.2 Production Capacity of P.

reticulatus in Producing Bio-

Rodenticide.

Figure 2 shows numbers of bio-rodenticide S.

singaporensis produced by various sizes of pythons

in a year. Small pythons produced 15,784 baits per

year and increased gradually up to 21,565 baits

when they reached medium size. However, number

of bait produced reduced significantly when they

reached the big size (2,955 baits only). Total baits

produced by single python during its captivity in the

period of 4 years were 40,300 baits.

From bio-rodenticide industry point of view,

efficiency is one of the most important factors that

need to be considered. In pythons breeding, the cost

for keeping big snakes is much higher compared to

the small and medium sizes pythons (Natusch and

Lyons, 2014). Therefore it is suggested not to keep

the big pythons as they only produce low number of

bio-rodenticide.



Figure 2. Number of bio-rodenticide produced by P. reticulatus with various body sizes per year.

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

Small Medium Big

ICNRSD 2018 - International Conference on Natural Resources and Sustainable Development

410

3.3 Conservation Bioprospecting for P.

reticulatus

Conservation bioprospecting is a new approach in

wild life conservation.

The present study successfully developed a concept

on conservation bioprospecting for P. reticulatus as

shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Conservation bioprospecting concept for sustainable conservation program for P. reticulatus

In order to get high number of parasites which

are free from unwanted microorganisms, high

numbers of captive bred pythons are highly desired.

However, as the big pythons are not productive

anymore they can be released to the wild or use

them to fulfill demand from leather industry. With

this scenario the quota for wild harvest of pythons

can be reduced.

Furthermore, according to Indonesian regulation

(Permenhut No 19/Menhut-II/2005) it is mandatory

to release 10% of captive bred animals to the wild as

part of re-stocking approach. By releasing numbers

of pythons in the wild and reducing quota for wild

harvest, it will assure their population in the wild

will sustain as expected.

4 CONCLUSIONS

P. reticulatus live and reproduce well in captivity. P.

reticulatus produce high number of parasitic

protozan S. singaporensis that can be used for

commercial bio-rodenticide. Conservation

bioprospecting is a new approach that can give an

incentive to the sustainable conservation program of

P. reticulatus.

REFERENCES

Ginting, S., Jakel, T., 2005. Penemuan Sarcocystis

singaporensis,protozoa parasit pengendali hama tikus

di Sumatera Utara, Indonesia. Jurnal Penelitian

Pertanian: 24 (1): 57-61.

Jakel, T., Khoprasert, Y., Endepols, S., Archer-Baumann,

C., Suasa-ard, K., Promkerd, P., Kliemt, D.,

Boonsong, P., Hongnark, S., 1999. Biological control

of rodents using Sarcocystis singaporensis.

International Journal for Parasitology 29: 1321-1330.

Kasterine, A., Arbeid, R., Caillabet, O., Natusch, D.,

2012. The Trade in South-East Asian Python Skins.

International Trade Centre (ITC), Geneva, 56 pp.

Maxwell, G., 2005. The More Complete Chondro. ECO

Herpetological Publishing, 317 pp.

Natusch, D.J.D., Lyons, J.A., 2014. Assessment of

pyhtons breeding farms supplying the international

hingh-end leather industry. A report under the Python

Conservation Partnership programme of research.

Occasional Paper of the IUCN Species Survival

Commission No 50. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN, 56pp.

Shine, R., Ambriyanto, Harlow, P.S., Mumpuni., 1999a.

Reticulated pythons in Sumatra: biology, harvesting

and sustainability. Biological Conservation 87: 349-

357.

Conservation Bioprospecting: A New Approach to Conserve the World’s Longest Snake, Python reticulatus Schneider, 1801

411