Snakes top list of roadkill incidents in Singapore

Almost 500 dead snakes found on roads from 2021 to 2024, herptile project finds

- Angelica Ang

Snakes on a plane probably have a better chance of survival than they would on roads in Singapore.

They top the list of roadkill incidents, with 499 dead snakes found between 2021 and 2024. During the same period, 152 lizards, 115 amphibians and 27 turtles were also found as roadkill.

These findings were part of The Herpetological Society of Singapore's (HSS) Herptile Roadkill project, started in 2021 to find out what types of herpetofauna - or amphibians and reptiles - most often wind up as roadkill, and where they are the most vulnerable.

For the project, HSS encourages anyone who comes across roadkill to take a photo and report it via an online form.

Among animals, herpetofauna, or herps for short, are especially at risk of becoming roadkill as they often move slowly, thus increasing their chances of getting hit by a vehicle.

These cold-blooded animals are also drawn to roads paved with concrete or asphalt, which absorb a lot of heat from the sun.