A report by Demian Alva
I am Demian Alva from Veracruz Mexico. I am a boa constrictor enthusiast. I care much for these animals an often save them from a terrible destiny.
People around these lands hate all kinds of snakes and reptiles an kill them before asking themselves if they are dealing with a dangerous animal or not. So I've been visiting several comunities telling people that if they see a boa, commonly called here "Masacuata", they can put it inside a tomatoe box or any other container with breathing holes, and call me. I come to them and give them supplies, food, tools or even furniture in exchange for the serpent.
As far as today I have collected 13 Boa constrictor from communities in this area and re-introduced them in forests far from civilization near by. I register them by drawing a small section of their skin pattern and I have found that in this particular region (central Veracruz) thera are several different kinds of Boa c. imperator.
Demian Alvas brother with true Mexican Boa c. imperator "Mitzi"
Boa constrictor Mexico report | information on Boa constrictor Mexico
In 1998, I found one crossing the highway. I called it "Mitzi". I calculated it was about two months old. It was a beautiful offspring. I couldn't find a decent forest area near by due to the fact that it was too close to Veracruz's capital city, Xalapa. Since then, I've kept "Mitzi" with me.
He is a very healthy three year old wild Boa constrictor male. So I decided to try and find a female his same subspecie and make them breed. A man that lives not far from here told me there was a medium size "Masacuata" living in his farm. So I went to take a look and I found a beautiful female, apparently older than "Mitzi" but a little shorter. That was the perfect match for my friend. But after analizing its pattern and its head it seams to be another different kind of Boa c. imperator. It is probably due to the altitude. I caught "Mitzi" at about 1200 meters over sea level and I caught the female at bearly 10 meters over sea level. But there were no more than 20 kilometers between each other.
Yellow: Mexican Republic
Green: VERACRUZ State.
Blue: Gulf of Mexico.
- (red with black) XALAPA, capital city of Veracruz State.
- (red with black) VERACRUZ, second most important city in Veracruz State.
- (black) MISANTLA, near by city.
- (black) ORIZABA, third most important city in Veracruz State.
- (black) ACTOPAN, head county of "municipio de Actopan. Closest village to OTTATES.
- (white) OTTATES, place where Mitzi was found.
- (black) MEXICO CITY. Capital city of the country