- Interesting Banded sea krait Facts:
- Banded sea krait has bluish grey body covered with black bands that stretch from the neck to the tip of the tail. Belly is yellow or creamy colored. Entire body is covered with smooth scales.
- Banded sea krait has small head, cylindrical body and paddle-shaped tail.
- Banded sea krait spends part of its life in the ocean (where it collects food), and other part on the solid ground (where it sheds its skin, digests meals and rests).
- Banded sea krait has large lungs, thanks to which it can stay nearly 2 hours under the water.
- Banded sea krait leaves water once every 10 to 14 days. It can be found on the sandy beaches, in the caves and coastal areas covered with trees. Banded sea krait is good climber thanks to large scales on the belly.
- Banded sea krait is nocturnal creature (active during the night).
- Banded sea krait is a carnivore (meat-eater). Its diet consists of fish (such as eels), squids and crabs.
- Banded sea krait is slow swimmer. It hunts using an element of surprise (an ambush predator). Strong venom affects function of muscles and nerves and induces paralysis of its victims.
- Banded sea krait produces venom which is 10 times stronger than the venom of a rattlesnake and cobra. Despite ability to kill human with a single bite, banded sea krait rarely attacks humans.
- Natural enemies of banded sea kraits are sea eagles and sharks.
- Little is known about reproductive behavior of banded sea kraits, except that they can mate all year round.
- Courtship and mating of banded sea kraits takes place on the small, remote islands. Female lays 4 to 20 eggs in the sand. Babies emerge from the eggs 4 to 5 months later.
- Males reach sexual maturity at the age of 18 months, females at the age of 24 months. Many banded sea kraits die before they reach sexual maturity due to large number of predators.
- Lifespan of banded sea krait (both in the wild and in the captivity) is unknown.
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