Hawaii Fact 47 of 50: No Scary Snakes In Hawaii

For those of you who have followed Go Visit Hawaii for a while, you know that I’m an admitted scaredy cat. Let me now share with you that snakes are on my list of the most scary things on the face of the earth. (Is anybody with me?) So, one of the many reasons I like visiting the 50th State is that Hawaii doesn’t have scary snakes. That means that I don’t have to be on the lookout for snakes when I’m hiking in Hawaii. Yay!

Hawaii’s Department of Agriculture actively seeks to prevent snakes from arriving and living on the islands. In fact, there’s a hotline (643-PEST) that residents and visitors are encouraged to call if they find a snake.

When a snake if found in Hawaii, it becomes a news item. For example, here’s a news release

reporting that a snake was found in Hilo Harbor on January 26, 2007. Notice this interesting excerpt:

Snakes are illegal in Hawaii and anyone spotting a snake should not try to handle it. Snakes have no natural predators in Hawaii and pose a serious threat to Hawaii’s environment. Many species also prey on birds and their eggs, increasing the threat to endangered native birds. Large snakes can also be a danger to the public and small pets.

As I was researching this fact, I learned that that Hawaii does actually have a snake, the Brahminy Blind Snake (Ramphotyphlops braminus). I’ve learned that this snake is the size of an earthworm. These snakes are non-venomous and harmless to humans. Here’s a YouTube video that shows how small they are.