A snake of many colours

Astounding news of a snake with the ability to change colours chameleon-style.

The snake, named Enhydris gyii, was found in the Kalimantan province of Indonesia.

It was Dr Auliya, a consultant for WWF, who discovered serendipitously its colour-changing capacity.

"I put the reddish-brown snake in a dark bucket," he said. "When I retrieved it a few minutes later, it was almost entirely white."

Of course, with new species discovered today, we are faced with the depressing thought that these magnificent animals may disappear faster than we can discover them. Indonesia's thirst for coconut plantations is decimating populations of many animals, including the "old man of the forest", the orang-utan (Pongo pygmaeus).