Carob Snakes Owls & Poison

[wanderer]

Interesting article in the Cyprus Mail
Barn owls and black snakes are being enlisted in Cyprus to protect carob trees, known on the Mediterranean island since antiquity and once a flourishing export but now threatened by urbanisation and rats.

Since April, conservationists at centuries-old groves near the island’s southern coast have been laying barn-owl nests and planning reptile nests, primarily for the non-poisonous black snake. They want to swap poison for natural predators to keep rat populations in check and prevent damage to the trees.

“Historically and culturally, the carob is significant for Cyprus,” said Menelaos Stavrinides, an assistant professor at Cyprus’ University of Technology and national coordinator of the project. “It’s a characteristic of the island, and for people who live here, its an important source of income.”

In the 1960s its crop, the locust pod, was a prized export, with production averaging 53,000 tonnes a year, making Cyprus the third-biggest exporter worldwide. Seeds in the pod are used to make locust bean gum, a thickening agent widely used in food.

But as Cyprus moved from an agriculture-based economy to a financial services centre, the country’s carob production dwindled. The latest data from 2012 puts production at just over 9,000 tonnes.

A carob needs little attention, just the occasional pruning. Its biggest enemy is the black rat, which gnaws the bark of the tree. Unchecked, it can strip the tree of its foliage, slowly killing it.

The conventional defence, laying poison, is never effective and can threaten birds, reptiles and insects. Carobs are believed to be the natural habitat of a beetle unique to Cyprus and considered critically endangered.

“With the owls, we are going to let nature take its course,” said Lefkios Serghides of Terra Cypria, a conservation group participating in the three-year project. “A pair of barn owls can kill up to 3,000 rats a year.”

Part of the conservation programme is focused at Anogyra, a small community where carob production once sustained the local economy.

The project is being financed as part of a drive for farmland with high nature values, a concept that biodiversity depends on low-density farming. For experts, it will also shed light on little-known aspects of the tree, such as which insects are its pollinators, and their ages.

Michalis Makri, an elderly farmer whose family has been cultivating carobs for generations, says nobody knows how long the trees have been standing.

“They were old when my grandfather was alive. We just found them here,” he said

[surfmeetseast]

Thank you for that fascinating information. In the mountains at the back of us are carob trees. Our dogs like to chew on the pods. I read somewhere that you can grind them down to carob powder but it sounded very laborious. Great to have snakes and owls instead of poison

[Cally]

What a refreshing solution to a problem, long may the carob stand.....

[Owl Lady]

Great idea, so long as they are black snakes and not Bunt nosed vipers! My dog nearly died two years ago after being bitten. You can bring as many owls as you like as I adore them.

[Cally]

As I do Owl lady, since I had a chance meeting on my kitchen window sill with one...

[Groucho]

I'm always filled with dread when in his arrogance Man attempts to interfere with nature to change the balance for some perceived benefit... The history of such introductions of non-native species should tell us that it's not going to end well. Rabbits, Cane Toads, Grey Squirrels, Camels, Donkeys. and that's just a few of the ecological disasters reaped by Man's intervention in natural affairs.

As I understand it, the Black Snake was introduced to control Blunt-Nosed Viper numbers, the Blunt-Nosed Viper has amongst its diet rats. Since their numbers have decreased and it's now a protected endangered species the number of rats has multiplied.

This was told to me by a very saddened villager in Esentepe who had given up telling his kin not to take a spade to Blunt-Nosed Vipers....

Oh and while we are at it there are no non-venomous snakes... all snakes have venom. Some use it in different ways and don't envenom their prey.

[owl]

I quite like chewing carob pods, interesting and slightly sweet taste. Many locals often stop for a snack and the sheep love them.
Remember to only eat the outer pod, not the seeds as these will break your teeth!
It's the seeds which are ground down for paste.

Interesting fact: Carob seeds are very uniform in size and weight, which is why the measurement for Gold (Carat) comes from the historic name and use of Carob seeds for weighing.

[Groucho]

I quite like chewing carob pods, interesting and slightly sweet taste. Many locals often stop for a snack and the sheep love them.
Remember to only eat the outer pod, not the seeds as these will break your teeth!
It's the seeds which are ground down for paste.

Interesting fact: Carob seeds are very uniform in size and weight, which is why the measurement for Gold (Carat) comes from the historic name and use of Carob seeds for weighing.

Our dogs like them too... (notice I say dogs not dog because it seems the stray we are looking after is unlikely to find a new home) trouble is they spit out the seeds and they start growing in our garden! They are a bugger to pull out....