GRADUATE STUDENTS

Alberto R. Puente-Rolón

by Suzanna Engman

Snake whisperer Alberto R. Puente-Rolón conducts much of his research at night in the forest of the karst region of Puerto Rico wearing a headlamp to keep his hands free for note taking or to capture a specimen of the endangered Puerto Rican boa (Epicrates inornatus). The boas are elusive, and sometimes he has to search for four or five nights in a row just to spot one. Each individual boa reacts differently to him. “Some specimens are gentle, and others are aggressive and you can get a serious bite,” says Puente-Rolón.

For his master’s thesis, Puente-Rolón observed how these nocturnal semi-arboreal snakes aggregate to hunt. “I studied the foraging behavior of the snakes in a cave where snakes go to hunt bats. They hang upside down from tree branches or rocks and wait until bats come out of the cave. Then a snake will grab it, constrict it, and swallow it. They can catch three or four bats a night if they are successful, but it requires a lot of energy.”

Puerto Rican boa (Epictates inornatus). Photo by Alberto Puente-Rolón.

A doctoral candidate at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras campus and full-time biologist at the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources Terrestrial Resource Division, Puente-Rolón is now collecting data on the boas’ movements, thermal regulation, and reproduction. “A boa can use 12 hectares. I haven’t observed any behavior that indicates territoriality in the species, and they are usually solitary, but you can see aggregations during the reproductive periods.” The Puerto Rican boa, which can grow up to eight feet long, has some natural predators, but their biggest threat comes from humans. For example, humans prey on them to extract their oils and eat them. “Culebreros are the people who catch the snakes, kill them, and remove the fat. Then they mix it with alcohol and sell it. Some people believe that it treats arthritis. Also a few people eat the snakes.”

Puente-Rolón notes that even though Puerto Rican boas are on the endangered species list, recently they have been spotted more often in public. “I believe that it’s a response to habitat loss, although some scientists think that the Puerto Rican boa is more common than people previously believed. Some have proposed to remove the species from the federal endangered species list, but the general consensus is that even if they are more abundant than in the past, the habitat loss and habitat fragmentation is increasing, so it is better to keep the species listed as endangered in order to conserve or to develop some strategies for conservation.

“Now we’re facing a new threat. Global warming. Reptiles are ectothermal, so how will changes in temperature and rain affect the species?” The baseline data Puente-Rolón is collecting will contribute to decision making about management practices to improve the survival of the species.

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