Nature - 2nd prize
Gilles Nicolet
Saola for National Geographic
Saola for National Geographic
01 January, 1997
After the python skins have been cleaned and dried, they are sold to tanners in the far north of Cameroon to be turned into handicrafts. Traders pay up to US$60 for a large python including the meat. The vast Adamaoua plateau is home to a great variety of animal species. There are only a few hunters who are versed in capturing pythons. They crawl into the snakes' lairs, grab them with their bare hands and pull them out by their heads. Pythons don't usually get aggressive until they are brought out into the light.