Snake charming and the exploitation of snakes in Morocco
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Snake charming and the exploitation of snakes in
Morocco
J U A N M . P L E G U E Z U E L O S , M Ó N I C A F E R I C H E , J O S É C . B R I T O and S O U M Í A F A H D
Abstract Traditional activities that potentially threaten bio- also for clothing, tools, medicine and pets, as well as in
diversity represent a challenge to conservationists as they try magic and religious activities (review in Alves & Rosa,
to reconcile the cultural dimensions of such activities. ). Vertebrates, particularly reptiles, have frequently
Quantifying the impact of traditional activities on biodiver- been used for traditional medicine. Alves et al. () iden-
sity is always helpful for decision making in conservation. In tified reptile species ( families, genera) currently
the case of snake charming in Morocco, the practice was in- used in traditional folk medicine, % of which are included
troduced there years ago by the religious order the on the IUCN Red List (IUCN, ) and/or the CITES
Aissawas, and is now an attraction in the country’s growing Appendices (CITES, ). Among the reptile species
tourism industry. As a consequence wild snake populations being used for medicine, % are snakes.
may be threatened by overexploitation. The focal species for Snakes have always both fascinated and repelled people,
snake charming, the Egyptian cobra Naja haje, is undergo- and the reported use of snakes in magic and religious activ-
ing both range and population declines. We estimated the ities is global (Alves et al., ). The sacred role of snakes
level of exploitation of snakes based on field surveys and may be related to a traditional association with health and
questionnaires administered to Aissawas during – eternity in some cultures (Angeletti et al., ) and many
, and compared our results with those of a study con- species are under pressure from exploitation as a result
ducted years previously. Aissawas use four venomous (Alves et al., ). The impact of hunting and collecting
and four non-venomous species for snake charming and on snake populations has rarely been studied and remains
we estimate they harvest a minimum of , individuals largely unreported (Gibbons et al., ; Klemens &
annually, mostly venomous snakes. For exhibition purposes Thorbjarnarson, ), and declines in snake populations
they selectively remove the largest specimens from the wild are not receiving the same level of attention as, for example,
(i.e. those that could have the highest reproductive output). those in amphibians or marine turtles (Mullin & Seigel,
Compared to the previous data, we detected () a reduction ). Negative effects resulting from exploitation of
in the number of species collected, () an increased distance snake populations must first be assessed before appropriate
to collecting fields, and () an increase in the market price conservation measures can be established for species of
for snakes, after correction for accumulated inflation, signi- concern.
fying a higher demand for these animals. Healers and indigenous peoples have collected wildlife
for centuries but in the past harvests were relatively sustain-
Keywords Aissawas, cobra, Morocco, Naja haje, Sahara,
able and species survival was not threatened (Alvard et al.,
snake charming, tourism, unsustainable use
). Recent socio-economic-induced changes in human
The supplementary material for this article can be found at populations, however, such as those related to tourism de-
https://doi.org/./S velopment, long considered a clean industry with limited
or no negative environmental impacts, are now affecting
biodiversity (van der Duim & Caalders, ). One example
of this is the population decline in snakes used in snake
Introduction charming, a practice that began in Morocco c. years
ago when Sidi Mohammed Ben Aissa, an Andalusian sufi,
I nteractions between people and wildlife have long had an
impact on biodiversity. Prehistoric and primitive soci-
eties used animals and their derivatives mainly as food but
founded the religious order known as the Aissawas in
Meknes, central Morocco (Brunel, ).
The Aissawas were healers and custodians of knowledge
about the local flora and fauna. They used snakes in trad-
JUAN M. PLEGUEZUELOS (Corresponding author) and MÓNICA FERICHE Department itional medicine and exhibitions in market places (souks)
of Zoology, University of Granada, E-18071 Granada, Spain throughout the country, inspiring the use of snakes in spec-
E-mail juanple@ugr.es
tacles to attract tourists. Snakes used in such spectacles suf-
JOSÉ C. BRITO Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos,
University of Porto, Vairão, Portugal
fer from high mortality; when they show obvious signs of ill
health they are disposed of and replaced by freshly caught
SOUMÍA FAHD Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Abdelmalek Essaâdi
University, Tétouan, Morocco individuals (Highfield & Bayley, ). In Morocco re-
Received May . Revision requested June . gistered ,, foreign visitors (.% more than during
Accepted August . First published online December . the previous year; Tourisme en Chiffres, ) and tourism
Oryx, 2018, 52(2), 374–381 © 2016 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605316000910
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https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605316000910Snake charming in Morocco 375
accounted for .% of the country’s gross domestic product of hunting activity towards more remote regions in the
(the second highest contributor after agriculture). The Sahara desert, however, would suggest that snake hunting
country plans to double the annual number of visitors by was having a negative impact on snake populations
(Ministère du Tourisme du Maroc, ). If this ob- (see a similar interpretation for a mammal species in
jective is achieved the Aissawas have the potential to in- Milner-Gulland & Clayton, ). Local market prices for
crease their financial gain by performing their spectacles exploited species can serve as a surrogate for species popu-
at more tourist sites during an extended tourist season, lation density in the wild and as a measure of sustainability
and the demand for snakes will increase. in harvesting (Albrechtsen et al., ). A gradual increase
Morocco has a species-rich reptilian fauna, including in a snake’s market price through time, after correction for
snake species. In a national-level assessment of extinc- accumulated annual inflation, may be interpreted as a re-
tion risk of amphibians and reptiles, based on IUCN criteria, flection of the increasing difficulty of harvesting in the
snakes accounted for a high number of threatened species wild, and as being consistent with resource depletion
(.%), with the two species commonly used for snake (Milner-Gulland & Clayton, ).
charming, the Egyptian cobra Naja haje and the puff adder
Bitis arietans, categorized as Vulnerable (Pleguezuelos et al.,
). Despite the prevalence of snake charming in Morocco Methods
there is no quantitative information regarding its overall ef-
fect on the country’s snake fauna, as is generally the case in Snake charmers
the search for empirical evidence of the potential effects of
On six occasions during – (, (×), ,
human activity on the fauna of an area (Webb et al., ).
, ), in spring and autumn, we searched for
During – we interviewed snake charmers in
Aissawas and snake charming activity in the main cities,
tourist areas throughout the country, and snake hunters, a
souks and tourist resorts of Morocco. Aissawas are wary
distinctive group of Aissawas, in southern Morocco. Based
of outsiders (Brunel, ), and therefore interviews were
on the accumulated responses we estimated () the number
conducted by a Moroccan member of our research group
of snake charmers, the various species used, and the
(SF), who speaks Arabic and Berber and was therefore better
number of individual snakes they exhibited annually; ()
accepted by the Aissawas (Albuquerque et al., ).
the number of snake hunters, the localities in which they
Interviews were administered using a standardized form,
were active, and the number of individuals of each species
and included questions about snake provenance and price,
they collected; and () market prices for the focal species,
number of individuals acquired per year, and knowledge re-
N. haje. Some natural history traits of snakes were compared
garding the presence of other practitioners nearby
between the individuals used by Aissawas and the indivi-
(Supplementary Material ). The interviews were conducted
duals we found during field surveys in the harvesting regions,
in the interviewees’ primary environment (Albuquerque
to investigate selection based on these traits by Aissawas.
et al., ), and interviews with contradictory responses
Some of these variables could be indicative of the effect of
were eliminated from the analysis. Since the s
harvesting on snake populations. Harvesting often selects
Aissawas in Marrakech (the stronghold for snake charming)
against traits that would normally be advantageous under
have been organized into five closed groups, each consisting,
natural conditions (e.g. larger body size; Sasaki et al., ).
on average, of members (range –); because of the
Our study replicates research on snake charming in
complex relationship among snake charmers within each
Morocco by the late José Antonio Valverde during
group (authors, unpubl. data), data from individual snake
– (Valverde, –), thus facilitating a com-
charmers are not independent, and only one datum per
parison of the impacts of snake charming on Moroccan
group in Marrakech was considered.
snakes between the two study periods. It is difficult to moni-
tor changes in snake populations over time because of their
elusive behaviour (Seigel & Mullin, ). As a proxy, we Snake hunters
compared, between periods, the number of species har-
vested, the localities where snakes were harvested, and the Traditionally all Aissawas hunted for snakes used in charm-
monetary values of N. haje. We assumed commercialization ing but now only some custodians of the traditional culture
of snake charming had a negative effect if only the most are snake hunters; others, including many newcomers, buy
striking snake species were targeted for harvesting. With re- snakes directly from hunters. This division of responsibility
spect to possible differences in the geographical location of provided us with a control factor for gauging the impact of
hunting grounds between the two periods, we reasoned that snake charming. We compared the numbers of snakes re-
hunting activity could be considered sustainable only if ported by snake charmers and hunters for all species each
snake hunters were able to collect sufficient numbers of year. We assumed that hunters harvested snakes for the
snakes in the same area over the study period. Movement snake charmers, and that this approach would accurately
Oryx, 2018, 52(2), 374–381 © 2016 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605316000910
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https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605316000910376 J. M. Pleguezuelos et al.
FIG. 1 Snake hunting sites in the Atlantic
belt of south-western Morocco recorded
during – (Valverde, –)
and – (this study).
reflect the situation when the numbers compiled from hun- price of snakes used in spectacles (Valverde, –).
ters and charmers coincided. To gather data from snake Geographical information system data for previous and re-
hunters we targeted our efforts within the distribution cent hunting localities were evaluated for potential changes
range of N. haje, the focal species for snake charming, dur- using the Mean Center tool in ArcView v. . (ESRI,
ing the snake-hunting season (April–October). We re- Redlands, USA). This spatial statistical tool uses projected
corded the location of each hunting site identified, using a data (in this case the georeferenced hunting localities) to
global positioning system, and interviewed the hunters measure distance accurately, and identifies the geographical
using a standardized form, which included questions centre of the data as a point constructed from the mean x
about the species captured and the number of individuals and y values of the input features. We estimated the mean
of each species taken during each hunting trip (mean dur- centre of the hunting grounds for both periods and mea-
ation days) and annually, and the price for individuals of sured the Euclidean distance between them (Fig. ).
each species (Supplementary Material ). We combined data on prices of individuals during –
In addition to administering the questionnaires, and with our data for –, corrected for accumulated
when permitted to do so by the snake charmers and hunters, annual inflation in Morocco (World Bank, ), and re-
we also measured the snout–vent length (to the nearest mm) gressed snake price on years, to examine any trend in the
and determined the sex from the tail shape of specimens. monetary value of snakes.
To compare natural history traits (body size, sex ratio)
between specimens preferred by the Aissawas and those pre-
sent in wild populations, occasionally during – we
Results
searched for snakes in the same hunting areas, during the
same season as the Aissawas. We captured individuals, We estimated there were a minimum of snake charmers
which we identified, measured, sexed and released at cap- in Morocco during –, (%) located permanent-
ture sites. We compared data on body size by a Student’s t ly in Marrakech and elsewhere, mainly in western and
test if parametric and by the Mann–Whitney U test if non- southern cities (Tangier, Fez, Meknes, Safi, Agadir,
parametric, and sex ratio by × contingency tables. Taroudant, Ouarzazate, Zagora, Tata, Tiznit, Sidi Ifni,
Guelmime, Tan Tan), generally at tourist sites. Eight species
(four venomous and four non-venomous) were used in
Comparison between periods their performances. Of these, four species (B. arietans,
Hemorrhois hippocrepis, Malpolon monspessulanus, and N.
During – J.A. Valverde recorded systematic infor- haje) were commonly used; the other four were Cerastes cer-
mation on snake charming in Morocco. We used his data on astes, Daboia mauritanica, Psammophis schokari and
hunting sites (n = , georeferenced using Google Earth; Rhagerhis moilensis. During – Valverde recorded
Supplementary Table S), the species harvested, and the almost twice as many species being used: the same eight
Oryx, 2018, 52(2), 374–381 © 2016 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605316000910
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https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605316000910Snake charming in Morocco 377
TABLE 1 For Morocco, the mean no. of snakes exploited annually per snake charmer interviewed (n = ), estimated no. of snakes exploited
annually by Aissawa snake charmers (n = ), mean no. of snakes (± SD) harvested annually per snake hunter interviewed (n = ), esti-
mated no. of snakes harvested annually by hunters (n = ), and the difference in the numbers of snakes harvested by hunters and exploited
for snake charming.
Mean ± SD exploited Estimated no. Mean ± SD harvested Estimated no. Difference
per snake charmer exploited by snake per snake hunter harvested by snake between hunting &
Species (95% CI) charmers (95% CI) (95% CI) hunting (95% CI) charming (%)
Bitis arietans 9.1 ± 4.9 782.6 28.1 ± 48.6 1,011.6 229.0
(0–16) (0–1,376) (0–58.9) (0–2,120.4) (+29.2)
Cerastes cerastes 2.7 ± 5.1 232.2 21.0 ± 26.9 756.0 523.8
(0–6.7) (0–576.2) (3.8–38.1) (136.8–1,371.6) (+225.5)
Colubridae, 22.8 ± 6.3 1,952.2 38.6 ± 52.6 1,389.6 −562.6
Lamprophiidae* (17.9–27.6) (1,539.4–2,373.6) (5.1–72.0) (183.6–2,592.0) (−28.8)
Daboia 1.7 ± 2.7 146.2 14.2 ± 19.8 518.4 372.2
mauritanica (0–3.7) (0–318.2) (1.6–26.7) (57.6–961.2) (+254.6)
Naja haje 3.6 ± 1.1 309.6 20.2 ± 26.0 727.2 417.6
(2.8–4.5) (240.8–387.0) (3.7–36.8) (133.2–1,324.8) (+135.0)
All species 39.9 ± 8.5 3,431.4 122.1 ± 129.4 4,395.6 964.2
(21.2–48.8) (1,823.2–4,196.8) (39.8–204.3) (1,432.8–7,354.8) (+28.1)
*Colubridae includes Hemorrhois hippocrepis, and Lamprophiidae includes Malpolon monspessulanus, Psammophis schokari and Rhagerhis moilensis.
that we recorded plus Boaedon fuliginosus, Cerastes vipera, discarded). During – Aissawas collected snakes
Hemorrhois algirus, Macroprotodon brevis, Spalerosophis widely in the Middle Wadi Drâa Valley, Wadi Sous Valley
diadema, Spalerosophis dolichospilus and Telescopus and Guelmim, and less intensively in the southern Low
tripolitanus. Drâa Valley (Valverde, –; Fig. ). During –
Snakes used for charming have a short life expectancy be- Aissawas rarely searched for snakes in the Wadi Sous
cause of improper care and the high mortality of defanged Valley (in the northern portion of southern Morocco), fo-
individuals. When the snakes become unhealthy they are cusing their efforts mostly in the Low Drâa. Preferred hunt-
killed and skinned, and their meat is fed to other snakes. ing grounds for snake hunters between – and
We completed nine independent and reliable questionnaires – shifted to less accessible areas (c. km south-
with snake charmers, all from male practitioners aged – west, Low Drâa), and further from Marrakech, the main
years (four others were discarded because of contradictions snake-using area (Fig. ).
in the responses). All snakes used by these snake charmers The target species for snake charming in Morocco is
are derived from wild harvesting, with each charmer exploit- N. haje, and as the least common wild species of those
ing c. individuals annually, and therefore we estimate used by snake charmers it is also the most expensive species
that c. , snakes are exploited annually for snake charm- in the trade between hunters and charmers. Using our own
ing (Table ). Although there are large standard deviations data and those of Valverde (–) we estimated an-
for some species there is less variability for the species of nual trends in the price of Egyptian cobras for years during
greatest conservation concern, N. haje. During – – and found that the price (corrected for inflation)
each of the snake hunters that we identified were actively increased substantially during this period (Fig. ). During
searching for snakes in five regions (Medium Wadi Drâa, our survey period (–) the mean price was USD
Wadi Sous Valley, Guelmim, Low Wadi Drâa, and occasion- . (MAD ; range MAD –,, n = ).
ally the Tafilalt) collected c. snakes annually; thus, in
total . , snakes were collected annually (. % more
than were exhibited by snake charmers; Table ). Discussion
We found no sex-ratio bias among the sample of snakes
used by Aissawas (Table ). However, individuals of six of The number of snake charmers in Morocco is low compared
the eight species in the possession of Aissawas were larger with numbers in larger countries such as India, where snake
(two only marginally so) than those of the same species charming is more widespread (Whitaker, ). In
found by us in non-targeted sampling in the same collecting Morocco the activity is mostly restricted to key tourist
grounds (Table ). areas, such as Marrakech. Practitioners may still be found
We recorded locations of hunting sites in souks in the south of the country but not in the north,
(Supplementary Table S) but were able to complete only unlike years ago (Hernández-Pacheco, ). In
reliable interviews with snake hunters (only one was Marrakech the number of groups of practitioners (five)
Oryx, 2018, 52(2), 374–381 © 2016 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605316000910
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https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605316000910378 J. M. Pleguezuelos et al.
TABLE 2 Morphological and population data for snake species used in snake charming, compared with data from non-targeted sampling in
the study areas in Morocco (Fig. ).
Snake charming Non-targeted sampling
No. of Snout–vent length No. of Snout–vent length
Species individuals (mm), mean ± SD Sex ratio individuals (mm), mean ± SD Comparisons*
Bitis arietans 20 851.0 ± 177.7 13 M, 17 F 5 544.0 ± 326.5 Z = 2.00, P = 0.04
χ2 = 0.20, P = 0.60
Cerastes cerastes 11 502.4 ± 81.3 3 M, 5 F 7 425.7 ± 144.3 Z = 0.950, P = 0.34
χ2 = 0.28, P = 0.59
Daboia 13 813.6 ± 143.9 5 M, 9 F 5 954.0 ± 177.5 Z = −1.52, P = 0.12
mauritanica χ2 = 0.58, P = 0.44
Hemorrhois 23 1,120.2 ± 190.8 11 M, 9 H 17 932.2 ± 308.6 t = 2.37, P = 0.02
hippocrepis χ2 = 0.22, P = 0.64
Malpolon 47 1,024.3 ± 307.9 32 M, 18 F 7 700.3 ± 253.8 Z = 2.51, P = 0.01
monspessulanus χ2 = 2.00, P = 0.15
Naja haje 46 1,364 ± 216 18 M, 22 F 8 872 ± 567 Z = 2.27, P = 0.02
χ2 = 0.20, P = 0.65
Psammophis 5 716.8 ± 98.9 3 M, 1 F 8 580.0 ± 136.2 Z = 1.90, P = 0.057
schokari
Rhagerhis moilensis 9 698.2 ± 118.4 6 M, 2 F 2 425.0 ± 176.7 Z = 1.88, P = 0.06
*Frequencies of male and female individuals were tested against the null hypothesis of equal numbers ( × contingency table; χ distribution), and means
(Student’s t-test or the Mann–Whitney U test, depending upon distribution normality). Bold font indicates significant differences.
Aissawas (Meakin, ), and these exhibitions were limited
to weekly souks, weddings and religious celebrations
(Brunel, ); however, now it is possible to see snake
charming in Marrakech’s Jamaa el Fna year round, from
dawn to dusk. Many of the snakes survive no more than a
few weeks, and therefore there is an increased need for
snake harvesting to supply these spectacles.
The number of species used in snake charming in
Morocco during the last – years has decreased, with
the Aissawas now using only the most striking and the
most venomous species and, among non-venomous species,
those that typically reach the largest sizes. There are no ap-
parent declines in range or population density for snake spe-
cies that are not currently exploited by the Aissawas
(Pleguezuelos et al., ). We speculate that the reduction
in the number of species exploited by the Aissawas signifies
the loss of the traditional meaning of snake charming and
indicates a trend towards commercialization of the activity,
specializing in snakes that will attract tourists. The focal spe-
cies for snake charming exhibit traits such as large body size
(N. haje) and/or ambush foraging (B. arietans), and species
FIG. 2 Trends in (a) the price of the Egyptian cobra Naja haje with these characteristics are prone to extinction when sub-
(y = −,. + .*x, r = ., P = .), and the price of jected to stochastic events (Reed & Shine, ), such as an
N. haje corrected for accumulated annual inflation in Morocco increase in the hunting of snakes for charming. Both species
(y = −,. + .*x, r = ., P = .), and (b) inflation are categorized as Vulnerable in Morocco (Pleguezuelos
(annual and accumulated) in Morocco, during –. (MAD
et al., ). The increase in construction of modern water
= c. USD .).
cisterns throughout Morocco is a further threat to snakes,
which become trapped in the cisterns and subsequently
has remained constant over the last three generations, but die (García-Cardenete et al., ).
the intensity of performance has not. In former times We estimate that snake hunters in Morocco harvest al-
snake charming was only one of the exhibitions of the most , snakes per year, and that c.% of these are
Oryx, 2018, 52(2), 374–381 © 2016 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605316000910
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https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605316000910Snake charming in Morocco 379
exploited by snake charmers. Although based on fewer valid Snake hunting grounds in Morocco correspond closely to
interviews than we would prefer, we estimate that our sam- the range of N. haje, with most hunters operating in the
ple includes . % of the country’s snake charmers and south-west (Middle and Low Drâa, Guelmim), where re-
one-third of its snake hunters. Interviewing members of cords are concentrated. The southwards shift in hunting
the closed order of the Aissawas is difficult, even after redu- grounds between – and – suggests there
cing cultural interference (Albuquerque et al., ). Our has been a decline in snake populations in northern regions.
data on snake charmers and snake hunters, resulting from Moreover, species hunted in small areas can rarely resist
two independent samples, corresponded and thus we infer intensive harvesting (Fitzgerald et al., ), and although
that our estimates of exploitation levels for most snake N. haje is distributed widely in southern Morocco, it occu-
species as a result of snake charming are reliable. More ven- pies microhabitats with sufficient vegetation to sustain po-
omous snakes were hunted than exhibited, and more non- pulations of its main prey, the fat sand rat Psammomys
venomous snakes were exhibited than were harvested by obesus, which in the Sahara desert occurs only in patches
snake hunters. For venomous snakes we interpret the differ- along wadis (temporary water courses). Snake hunters
ence as having resulted from high mortality during trans- understand the spatial ecology of both species and search in-
portation and captivity, from the illegal trade in snakes, tensively for N. haje in these patches, where they are more
and from the sale of snakes to the Moroccan Antivenin accessible to hunters than if they occurred in open land-
Centre in Rabat (authors, pers. obs.). For non-venomous scapes (Turner & Corlett, ). Based on our experience
snakes the difference is attributable to the occasional har- we reject alternative reasons for sourcing snakes from fur-
vesting of snakes from areas surrounding spectacle sites by ther distances, such as improved transport, because snake
snake charmers themselves (authors, per. obs.). hunters are economically poor and thus choose the least ex-
Snake charmers used larger individuals in spectacles than pensive means to acquire their materials.
those found in our non-targeted sampling in the wild. As Abundance also reflects the status of wildlife populations
snake charming relies on visual impact, hunters apparently se- (Lawton, ). A general comment among older Aissawas
lect the largest, most striking individuals from the field. Smaller is that within current hunting grounds for N. haje there are
individuals are not actively sought, according to statements fewer snakes and more hunters than some decades ago.
from snake hunters, and when captured serve as live food for Snake hunters can identify the recent presence of another
larger captive snakes. The focus on larger snakes by hunters hunter (because of the excavated snake burrows), and
may have a significant impact on natural snake populations. avoid such areas. Displacement of snake harvesting grounds
Some harvested individuals of N. haje, M. monspessulanus further to the south requires snake hunters to spend more
and H. hippocrepis exceed the maximum prey size for snake time and resources in pursuit of their craft, with reduced fa-
predators in the study area (e.g. the short-toed eagle cilities (e.g. transport, water availability) and limited oppor-
Circaetus gallicus, a specialist snake-eater; Gil & Pleguezuelos, tunities to earn a living in regions such as the Lower Drâa
). The Aissawas may therefore be effecting phenotypic se- and Western Sahara. This, in part, explains the increasing
lection on a portion of the snake population that normally prices for N. haje in the trade between hunters and snake
avoids natural predation, potentially resulting in reduced popu- charmers between the two periods.
lation fitness (Sasaki et al., ). The largest snakes in natural Unequivocally linking cause and effect for factors threa-
populations are probably the best adapted and most productive tening biodiversity is difficult. However, our data support
of the breeding individuals, and continued removal of the lar- the hypothesis that N. haje has declined as a result of the
gest females will eventually reduce the reproductive output of hunting pressure exerted by snake charming, with evidence
the entire population (Sasaki et al., ); for example, the prac- of reductions in the species’ range and population. Given the
tice of rattlesnake roundups in the central USA, where the lar- active selection of the largest individuals, hunting pressure
gest individuals are usually selected, significantly affects the could also trigger a rapid and negative evolutionary re-
demography of the prairie rattlesnake Crotalus viridis (Fitch, sponse, as observed in overhunted populations of the
), and the collection of the largest local snakes for use in Japanese mamushi Gloydius blomhoffii (Sasaki et al., ).
procession rituals around Cocullo, Italy, reportedly delayed The cultural and traditional significance of snake charm-
snake reproduction (Filippi & Luiselli, ). ing in Morocco precludes a proposal to ban this activity
Sex-biased snake harvesting has been observed elsewhere completely. Forty years after a ban on snake charming was
(Fitzgerald & Painter, ; Webb et al., ) but we ob- introduced in India snake charming continues, albeit as a
served a balanced sex ratio among the snakes used by the clandestine activity (Whitaker, ). We understand that
Aissawa in snake charming spectacles. This finding, con- protecting traditional knowledge and culture is important,
trary to general statements made by snake hunters, suggests particularly within the context of globalization; such knowl-
that they do not release pregnant females, which is another edge provides status for its custodians, who may otherwise
cause for concern regarding the conservation of wild snake have limited opportunity for employment. However, the
populations (Fitch, ). threat to exploited snake populations will continue if the
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to those snake hunters from whom we have learned so
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much, especially the old M’Barek Abaloul, and to all who by the short-toed eagle (Circaetus gallicus) during the breeding
aided us in our surveys. Xavier Santos and Stephen season in Granada (south-eastern Spain). Journal of Zoology, ,
D. Busack provided useful comments on the article. JCB is –.
supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (con- H E R N Á N D E Z -P AC H E C O , E. () Yebala y el bajo Lucus. Real Sociedad
tract IF//). This study was self-funded. Española de Historia Natural, Madrid, Spain.
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