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from a slingshot or a wooden ‘gun’ (Neill, 1956). Alternatively a chain or 
rubber band may be used to stun specimens ( see Brown, 1946; Dundee, 1950). 
Snares. Various types of hand-snares have been used effectively for 
reptiles, particularly lizards. These animals often cannot be approached 
closely enough to grab by hand and are often in situations where a net is 
impracticable. They may be noosed with a loop of wire, usually on a pole, 
as they will sit quietly until the loop is placed over the head and pulled tightly 
around the neck with a sudden jerk. Eakin (1957) has described such a 
device, and Stickel (1944) has presented a model in which the loop is closed 
instantaneously by a trigger mechanism. Franklin (1947) describes a type 
of snare for water snakes. 
Pitfall traps. Simple but effective traps for both reptiles and amphibians 
have been devised on the pitfall principle. A container (glass jar or tin can) 
is sunk into the ground so that its top is flush with the surface. Several inches 
of water are placed in a shallow-trap to prevent the animal from jumping out. 
Bant a (1957) describes a trap of this type for lizards in which a five-quart 
tin can was used (height 240 mm, inside diameter 66 mm). A disassembled 
cardboard carton was used as a cover, with small rocks under it to hold it 
above the surface of the ground and with rocks on top of it to keep it in place. 
The animals seek cover under the cardboard and fall into the trap. Rogers 
(1939) gives the plans for a plywood pitfall trap which has a balanced card- 
board cover over part of the top. This tilts when an animal runs over it, and 
it drops into the trap. Lannom (1962) successfully tried a lizard pitfall trap 
which had artificial trout flies suspended from a short thread above it. 
Lizards leaping for the fly would fall into the trap. Breen (1949) has de- 
scribed an effective turtle trap based on the pitfall principle. A barrel is 
weighted with stones and sunk in the water so that its top is level with the 
water surface. A board attached to the edge and partly submerged in the 
water acts as a ramp, and a piece of raw meat is placed on it at the end over 
the barrel mouth. A turtle ascending the ramp is plunged into the barrel 
after it passes the point of balance. Another type of turtle pitfall (Lagler, 
1943) is made by constructing a rectangular wooden frame with a wire hamper 
attached below it. Spikes or large nails are driven in along the inner edge of 
the frame so that they project downward, and their heads are clipped off. 
The trap floats in the water, and turtles will climb up on the wooden frame 
to sun themselves. If they leave by plunging into the centre of the trap, the 
projecting spikes will prevent them from climbing back out. Trenches with 
smooth steep sides, dug for construction or laying pipe, often inadvertently 
serve as pitfall traps for herptiles. 
In using pitfall traps, the amount of success will depend on the placement 
of the traps and the amount of activity and abundance of the animals to be 
trapped. For amphibians, a rainy night will usually provide the largest 
catch, provided of course that the trap is placed so that it will not fill up with 
rainwater and release the catch. Traps should be inspected at least once a day 
and the captured animals removed. Pitfalls must be removed or filled in 
when they are no longer in use, otherwise they will become an unnecessary 
graveyard for a wide variety of animals from small mammals to insects. 
Funnel traps. Various types of traps involving a funnel which allows an 
animal easy access to a trap but prevents its exit have been employed for 
herptiles. 
