Brown tree snakes contributed to the disappearance of many native forest birds and became known for causing power outages by climbing utility poles and electrical equipment. Snake Genome Reveals Hidden DifferencesThe researchers used long-read DNA sequencing to study large parts of the brown tree snake genome. Brown tree snakes are known to eat other snakes in their native habitat, but there is little evidence that they frequently attack each other on the island. The brown tree snake invasion suggests that even a small founding group can sometimes carry enough hidden variation to adapt and expand. Brown tree snake.