Currently back in the motherlands. Was exploring Palawan when we came across a very pleasant surprise. Our tour guide was leading up the short (but muggy!) hike up Mt. Mansilawit outside of El Nido, when she stopped dead in her tracks. A small brightly colored snake was right in the middle of the path. While she was pretty scared of snakes, I had no such reservation (see my why studia mirabilium and Smithsonian post 😁)

But I wasn’t foolish, as this small and exceedingly gorgeous snakes is a Two lined Coral Snake (Calliophis bilineatus) a quite venomous snake endemic to Palawan. I used my umbrella to gently encourage it off the trail.

As you can see in the short video, part of the snake’s defense mechanism is to flip on its back to expose its warning coloration on the ventral scales. And as it slithered away, you can see the brightly colored red tail.

It was the highlight of my day really. I would have thought I would have come across Palawan’s endemic birds more readily. To happen across this gorgeous native snake randomly of a very touristy hike was a special treat.